The Wind Sees Daisy
by Doughnut Gunso
Summary: At the start of the new school term, serious trouble was coming for Hinagiku, which had a lot to do with her past...
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Every meaningful Story has a difficult start**

3rd March, 1989.

In a modest hospital in Tokyo, a new-born baby girl was crying very loudly in her mother's arms. She barely had any hair, but it definitely was pink.

Both her parents were watching her with a smile on their faces, on the one side of the end. On the other side, there was an elementary school girl, also watching the baby girl. She had long green ponytail.

"You see, Yuki-chan, this is your younger sister," said the father, very softly.

"Then why does she have pink hair? I suppose she should also have green hair, like I do," said the girl, Yuki-chan.

"Well, inheritance is something that makes no sense to me at all," said the mother with a small laugh. "But you see, she has eyes like you, so there is no doubt she is your sister."

"And also like you too," said Yuki-chan, also laughing. "So what do we call her?"

"Hmm… that is a very good question. To be honest, I haven't come up with a name yet," said the father thoughtfully.

"I have an idea," said Yuki-chan enthusiastically. "Today's 3rd of March, right? It's Hinamatsuri (Hina Festival), right? Let's call her Hina, okay!"

"I think your sister wouldn't want to be called 'small' for the rest of her life!", said the mother, now laughing a bit harder. She panted heavily after she stopped laughing, as she was exhausted from giving birth.

"Easy, honey," said the father as he helped his wife down on her bed. "But then, Hina is a very good starting point. Hmm…" He was deep in thoughts as he looked out of the window. There, he saw some daisy blooming over the fields. "Hinagiku (daisy)…"

The two ladies both looked at him, amazed. The father smiled at them.

"Yes, she will be called Hinagiku," He paused, and looked at his crying daughter. "Kazami Hinagiku!"

This is the birth of Kazami Hinagiku, and the beginning of a long story.

* * *

><p>3rd September, 2005.<p>

"Milady, please be hurry! It's time to go to school!" called a young boy in butler uniform, with blue hair.

"What are you talking about, Hayate? We are on summer vacation!" mourned a younger girl with blonde twin-tails as she entered the dining room.

"What are you talking about, milady? School resumes today!" said Hayate, as he helped his lady with some simple breakfast.

"Don't you need a more proper breakfast, Nagi? That would be better for your health," said a girl in maid dress. She wasn't cosplaying, as she indeed was the maid of lady Nagi.

"I have no time for 'proper breakfast', Maria, since _someone_," – Nagi glared at Hayate – "said that we have to go to school right now!"

"That is correct, Maria-san," said Hayate, completely ignorant of the sarcasm in Nagi's words. "We have to go now, milady. You can have the sandwich on the car."

"The car?" repeated Nagi.

"Yes, the car," said Hayate with a smile. "You can't eat properly on my bike, can you?"

The car left the Sanzen'in Mansion. Nagi had finished her sandwich in no time, and was having orange juice.

"Come to think of it, it really was like a dream," said Hayate rather suddenly. "I mean, last week we were still living in the old apartment, but now we are back at the big Mansion, with Klaus-san, the SPs and everything back! It's like, you know, Mikado-san hadn't done anything with your right of inheritance, milady."

"Who knows what that old man is thinking?" said Nagi, after swallowing a mouthful of orange juice. "I don't know what he was playing with that disclaimer. 'The legal niceties would mean that Sanzen'in Nagi is the sole legal successor of the wealth of the Sanzen'in Household'? Please don't make me laugh!"

"What do you mean by that, milady?" asked Hayate, not keeping up.

"He should have known this from the beginning. He declared that whoever broke your jewel would get the inheritance, and I was the one, so I don't know what he was doing by disinheriting me for three months."

"But if it is the case, why hadn't you say anything back in May?" asked Hayate, even more confused.

"It would sound like I was begging for his inheritance, and I absolutely hate it," said Nagi coldly. "But I settle for whatever the law says is mine, so I have no problem with the disclaimer, even though it is stupid."

Hayate's head ached from following Nagi's logic, so he decided to shut his mouth and let the subject drop.

As the car arrived at Hakuou Academy, Hayate and Nagi noticed a big crowd gathering at the entrance.

"What the…?" the driver began cursing, but stopped himself dropping the F-bomb in front of his lady just in time.

"From what I could see here, the crowd is surrounding another car at the school entrance," said Hayate, who was looking through the car window. "Let's walk from here, milady."

With much effort, Hayate squeezed through the crowd, while also protecting his lady. He could see that the crowd – most of them students – was almost hysterical. It seemed like Justin Bieber had just passed by.

Several teachers can be seen, Katsura-sensei and Kaoru-sensei among them, trying to keep the crowd under control, but did not look like they would succeed. Hayate forced his ways towards Katsura-sensei, as he was looking for information.

"Back off, back off, you idiots! You too, Ayasaki-kun!" yelled Katsura Yukiji, who sounded more desperate by every second.

"We have just arrived, sensei," said Hayate, panting slightly. It was not easy forcing a way through a big crowd with a young girl to protect. "What's happening?"

"Well, do you see that black car? It is the Chairperson's. She is back at school, and the students want to see her!" said Yukiji, who was actually yelling, as the crowd was very noisy. "What kind of popularity is that?"

Hayate did not answer. He could not respond to anything else either, as he was so absorbed in the news Yukiji had just told him: Tennonsu Athena was back in Hakuou Academy.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Before school tea time**

It was very crowded and noisy at the school entrance, but it was very quiet in the Clock Tower. Only Student Council members and staff are allowed to enter the Tower, after all.

On top of the Clock Tower, there was the Student Council Room. Katsura Hinagiku, the Student Council President, often worked here alone, but she had a guest this morning.

"You have to discipline your students, Hinagiku," said the guest, who was an extremely elegant young woman, with blonde curly hair and red eyes. "I was essentially trapped in my car for half an hour, because so many students gathered around my car. Hakuou students should be elites, not fan boys and girls who chase after celebrities."

"Well, I agree. However, as it is Tennonsu-san we are talking about, I think you cannot blame the students for going crazy. They miss you, Tennonsu-san," said Hinagiku, a beautiful girl with long pink hair. She was holding two cups of coffee – one black and one milked – in her hands. She gave Athena the black coffee and said, "Here you go."

Athena looked down at her black coffee, which was smoking with steam. "What kind of Student Council President serves her guest coffee by herself?" she asked.

Hinagiku smiled. "I don't really mind. It is the obligation of a President to serve the others," she took a sip of her milked coffee. "And I think I brew the best coffee in the school, seeing that my parents – "

"- owned a coffee shop, I know," said Athena. "You told me before."

"And it was a long time ago," said Hinagiku with a sigh. "It has been nine months since we last talked."

"Hadn't we talk when we were living at the Violet Mansion?" asked Athena, surprised. "We shared the same room for three months, by the way."

"Yes, but you were Alice back then and…" Hinagiku paused, choosing her words carefully, "… I am not sure that I was talking to Tennonsu-san."

"You have a point," said Athena thoughtfully. "But the thing is that I remembered every conversation with you as Alice-chan."

Hinagiku blushed slightly as she saw where Athena was going. "You do?" she asked.

"I surely do. If you want to test my memory, please be my guest," said Athena shrewdly.

"Then you must also remember what you have promised me when we moved in…" said Hinagiku, lowering both her eyes and her voice, while her face went more and more scarlet.

"I do, and I will honour it."

Hinagiku sighed in relief. "Thank you very much, Tennonsu-san."

"Call me Athena."

Hinagiku was surprised. "But I thought you didn't like me calling you by a nickname. You were mad at me, remember?"

"Athena is my name, not my nickname," said Athena, frowning slightly. "What I didn't like was the nickname 'A-tan'!"

"Which Hayate-kun came up with," said Hinagiku, a bit defensively.

"At the age of six."

"When you were…"

"Drop it."

"I am sorry, Tennonsu-san."

"Call me Athena."

"Is it really okay?" asked Hinagiku, quite unsure of Athena's offer.

"Take this as my gratitude for your care in the last three months," said Athena, smiling.

"Thanks, Athena," said Hinagiku, also smiling.

Neither of them spoke for some minutes, and both turned their attention to their coffee. Then Athena opened her mouth again.

"I didn't come here for gossip," said Athena. "Only," she added after a second thought.

"Then what else do you have in mind, Athena?" asked Hinagiku, who blushed at the word "gossip".

"Well…" Athena began, but looked as if she was reluctant to talk. She took a pen and a piece of paper, and began writing. "Okay, take a look at here. We have a new student joining the school today, and he will be sorted into your class. From what I have observed a moment before, the swimming pool is over-crowded, so maybe we should…"

She kept on talking about school business, while her pen never stopped writing. Hinagiku was confused. Surely, Athena was talking about school business, but none of the things she talked about required text or graphic assistance. More importantly, the noise of Athena's scribbling was increasingly annoying. She had stopped looking at Athena's handwriting…

"Are you listening to me, Hinagiku?" asked Athena suddenly, as she thought Hinagiku was not paying attention.

"I am," replied Hinagiku, who was still attentive enough to catch her every word.

"And are you looking at what I am writing?"

"Excuse me?" asked Hinagiku, who was caught completely off-guard this time.  
>She looked down at what Athena had written down, and was shocked as she read through the note.<p>

"DO NOT PULL OUT THE SHIROSAKURA SWORD AGAIN. BAD PEOPLE ARE COMING AFTER YOU AND THE SWORD."

* * *

><p>"Listen up, everyone. This is new school term, and we have a new student joining this class," announced Yukiji. The whole class began chatting in great enthusiasm.<p>

"First Hayata-kun, then Kayura, now a third one, huh?" said Miki, not very enthusiastically.

"Would that be a boy or a girl?" asked Risa, quite enthusiastically.

"I hope it would be a boy as nice as Hayata-kun!" said Izumi, very enthusiastically.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY, IZUMI?" asked Risa and Miki together, most enthusiastically.

"No, no! Nothing, nothing!" squealed Izumi, panicked.

"Idiots…" mumbled Nagi.

"QUIET —–!" roared Yukiji, whose throat had gone hoarse as she overused her voice controlling the crowd this morning. Yet, despite all her might, the class remained very noisy, so she panted and said, "Good. Now, this new-comer's name is Fukada Kyosuke. FUKADA-KUN, PLEASE COME IN!" She had to roar again at the last sentence, as the class went completely out of her control.

The door swung open, and entered a handsome boy with blonde, spiked short hair and green eyes. He was so good-looking that the whole class was stunned silent. He smiled and said, "My name is Fukada Kyosuke. It is my honour to meet you all." His voice was deep and magnetic.

The class was still so amazed by his good looks that most students forgot to give a reply – only Hinagiku, Chiharu, Aika and Isumi managed to greet him back. Kotetsu snorted and said, "We don't need a Super Saiyan in our class!"

The boys burst out laughing, but the girls all turned to Kotetsu and gave him death glares.

Kyosuke smiled and said, "Yes, my friends keep telling me I look like Trunks. I think I look better, though."

This time the girls laughed and cheered. Kotetsu frowned and said nothing.

Yukiji, who was glad that classroom order had somewhat restored, smiled and said, "Okay, enough of this. Fukada-kun, please take a seat over there."

Kyosuke walked towards the seat Yukiji was pointing at, and he walked past Hinagiku.

"Kazami? Is that you?" he asked suddenly. The whole class turned their heads to Hinagiku.

Hinagiku's heart skipped a beat. She never expected anyone to call her that any more. "How do you know that name?" she asked.

"It's really you, Kazami!" said Kyosuke, as if he had just won in a lottery. "It's me, Big-Fuka!"

"Big-Fuka?" Hinagiku blinked and racked her brain. She then remembered. "Oh boy, it's you! I am so sorry, I never knew your full name, so I didn't recognize you! You have all grown up!" She was speaking so fast and so childish – in other words, so un-Hinagiku-ish – that the whole class gaped. The boys were petrified as they saw Hinagiku took him by his wrists. Yukiji was simply speechless.

Hayate watched Hinagiku and Kyosuke. He felt a bit annoyed, but he did not know why. Then he heard Miki giving out a quiet laugh.

"What is it, Hanabishi-san?" he asked.

"Kazami, huh? It has been so long since I last heard Hina being called that," said Miki.

"Do you know something? Does Hinagiku-san have anything to do with the name Kazami?"

"Of course she does. She has everything to do with the name Kazami," Miki paused. "Kazami is the surname of her original – or biological – parents. Her original name was Kazami Hinagiku."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: We all had a foolish childhood**

"Please tell us more, Hanabishi-san!" demanded Hayate after the day's lesson. It was 15:00, and everyone was walking around the campus.

"About what?" said Miki. Of course, she knew the answer to that question, but sometimes – all the times – she enjoyed making fun of Hayate.

"About the past of Hinagiku-san! Please tell us all what you know about!" Hayate did not know he had just fallen into Miki's trap, and gave his honest answer straight away. He used the word "us", as Nagi, Izumi and Risa were joining in.

"You seemed to have known Hinagiku-san for a long time, right?" he added.  
>Miki stared at him and thought for a moment. "It does me no harm telling you the story, but it does me no good either," she said.<p>

"What do you mean?" asked Hayate, suddenly alarmed.

"Just answer me one question," Miki paused and looked into his eyes. "Why do you want to know?"

Hayate gaped. Indeed, Hinagiku's past should have nothing to do with him. It was none of his business, so he did not have any right to know. But then, seeing Hinagiku meeting someone from her past, whom he knew nothing about, was not very comfortable. He wanted to know something about the past of Hinagiku and Kyosuke, because…

"Well, Hinagiku-san and Fukada-san reconciled after so long, right? I think I… am not sure about them. I want to know something more about them, so that… when it is necessary, I could… help," said Hayate, with the least certainly he had ever managed.

Everybody around him thought that he wanted to aid Kyosuke and Hinagiku together. Nobody knew that Hayate didn't mean this.

"So you wanted to help Hina? You are such a nice person, Hayata-kun," said Miki with a smile.

"Thank you very much," said Hayate. The misunderstanding was complete.

Miki looked up at the sky, took a deep breath, and began her story:

It was nine years ago when I first met Hina. I went to Hakuou Elementary Section with these two (She pointed at Izumi and Risa). It was only the first week of my second year, but on my eighth birthday, my father received a call from the school, saying that I was falling behind of studies. ("That quick?" exclaimed Hayate. "Yep, she had been bad all along," said Risa with a nod.) AH! Shut up, don't interrupt! Anyway, my father thought that I embarrassed the family. "The grand-daughter of the former Prime Minister should do much better than this!" he said. He then sent me to a private tutorial school.

Well, as I have said before, if we had any motivation to study, we would not end up having study groups or tutorial lessons. It was the same with the tutorial school that I went. Nobody in the tutorial school ever listened to the tutors. All, except one.

It might be luck, or it might be fate (Miki blushed a little), but I was assigned to sit next to Hina, our model student. She always listened to the tutors attentively, she always handed in homework in time, and she always got the best result in tests. The tutors definitely liked her.

The other kids did not like her, though. She always wore an angry face. She did not talk, and she did not play around with the others. Even I, who sat next to her, never talked to her. It seems that she was isolated, but she did not look like she cared at all.

And then something happened. Something which would fundamentally change our relationship happened.

I wasn't sure why, but one day the three boys sitting behind us made fun of me by spitting gums onto my hair. The kids were all laughing, but I was crying like mad. Then, Hina stood up and punched one of the boys in the face.

"Apologize," she said. It was the first time I heard her talking with the kids.

"Apologize for what?" retorted one of the boys.

"Apologize for making fun of your classmate! She is a girl, by the way!" yelled Hina.

"Yeah, and you punched me, Katsura! You are a girl, by the way!" said the boy who was punched by Hina. The other two kids laughed at her, but Hina's face was stonier than ever.

"I said, apologize!"

"Then you have to apologize to me as well!"

"Not until you apologize!"

"Damn it, I have had enough of you! Take her down!"

And then a fight broke out. Hina sent two more punches to the boy she punched already, took one hit on her right cheek, then knocked out the second boy; she took another punch on her left cheek, and then knocked out the third boy. The three boys were all lying on the floor, while Hina kicked their butts while kept saying "Apologize! Apologize!" I thought that it was too much, so I tried to grab her from behind, saying things like "Enough! That is enough!" and simply prayed that she would finally stop.

The tutors arrived and separated the four kids. Hina's parents – to be exact, foster parents – arrived later at the school and apologized for Hina's behaviours. As the daughter of politicians, I managed to overhear them. The tutor gave a lengthy telling off to Hina, who remained silent until the tutor said "You have to listen to your parents, understood?"

"They are not my parents!" yelled Hina.

"What did you say?" the tutor, who remained calm and patient all the afternoon, started to become angry.

"I said, they are not my parents! I am not a Katsura household member! I am Kazami! Kazami Hinagiku!"

I did not know why back then, but Hina's parents were not angry at her. In fact, they looked as if they sympathized with her.

"I am sorry, sensei, but this child did have a horrible time earlier," said Mr. Katsura. "Please don't be so mean with her on family issues."

The tutor was not convinced, until he saw when Mrs. Katsura urged Hina to go home, Hina struggled and said, "It is not – my – home!"

Hina then received a penalty for fighting with three boys, although she actually had become a living legend among the girls. I mean, a girl who could win against three boys in one fight! Isn't that amazing?

Nobody had the courage to talk with her, though. The girls then asked me to start a conversation with Hina, as I sat next to her. More importantly, she fought with the boys to protect me, so I owed her one.

So, in an evening when the lessons had ended, and I was alone in the classroom with Hina, I approached her and started talking.

"Hmmm… Katsura-san?" This was the first line I ever said to her.

"KAZAMI!" and I knew that my first line went wrong.

"Fine, fine, please don't yell. I just wanted to say thank you, Kat – Kazami-san."

"Call me Hinagiku," she said. "I see that nobody wants to call me Kazami. So call me Hinagiku."

"Hinagiku… isn't this name too long? Can I call you Hina?"

Hina, who was doing extra writing exercise as her penalty, stopped writing and stood up.

"I don't understand," she said. "They all call me Hina – my sister, the teachers, Mr. and Mrs. Katsura, and… my parents." She lowered her head for a few seconds, and then she looked up. "Why? Is it that fun calling me 'little'?"

"It is a nickname, and people call you by nickname to express that they love you," I said.

Hina did not really believe me. "If they loved me, they wouldn't abandon me," as she finished the line, I could see her eyes watering in an instant. I didn't say anything, as I was afraid that I might make her cry.

There was a long pause. I couldn't stand the silence in the end, so I tried very hard to think of another question to ask her.

"You are very good at studying. How come someone as bright as you ends up in this tutorial school?"

To my surprise, Hina answered this question. "I did not attend first year last year, but my sister doesn't want me to waste a year to resit first year. My school said that I could join second year, but I have to pass the first year exams before Christmas, so Mr. and Mrs. Katsura wanted me to do extra studies here."

"Could you teach me? I am in second year, but you are doing a better job than I do already!" I asked eagerly.

"You won't need me to teach you. You just have to work hard."

"Come on, Kat – I mean, Kazami-san!"

Hina giggled. It was the first time I saw her smile, but it was the best smile I had ever seen. "Call me Hinagiku. Or Hina, if you insist."

"I tell you want, Hina," I said, after some thoughts. "Try to smile more, and behave more like a girl."

"Is anything wrong with me?" Obviously she was not convinced.

I sighed as she apparently didn't understand something. "In that case, you would need some lesson as well. So let us make a fair exchange: You teach me studying, I teach you manners of a true lady."

I took her hand before she could answer. Her hand was so small, soft but warm. Nobody could have imagined that she hit three kids with this hand just days ago.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: On a certain day I changed my mind**

"Is this going to take any longer?" said Nagi with a yawn. "I am bored."

"We are halfway through, Nagi-chan," said Miki, not even looking at Nagi.

"And it is rude to rush a story-teller, especially when she is halfway through!"

"Got it, we got it, Hanabishi-san. Please go ahead!" said Hayate, who did not seem to think that Miki was telling a boring story.

"And make it quick. I promised Kayura to go hunting later today," said Nagi as she checked her watch. It was 15:10.

"Oh, very well," said Miki impatiently. "Let's see…"

And then she went on:

I invited Hina to my house every Saturday afternoons, so that she could help me with the studies, and I could teach her manners.

Well, Hina was fearless when she fought the boys, but she was extremely uncomfortable around my house. She didn't dare to touch anything ("I had the same feeling when I first arrived at milady's Mansion!" whispered Hayate. Nagi stepped on his foot. "Ouch!" exclaimed Hayate.), and jumped every time when the maids greeted her.

"You just have to relax, Hina-chan," said I. I also started calling her with the "-chan" suffix. "You are my guest, and this is my home. You don't panic when you visit your friend's home, do you?"

"It's different! Your home is bigger than my school!" exclaimed Hina, who was looking around. "And I don't have friends," she added, and I sensed the loneliness in her words.

"Then I shall become your first friend, and I will show you how to make more," said I. "How come you have no friends?"

"I didn't go to first year last year, remember?" said Hina. "No classmates, no friends. And the people at the tutorial school are just…""Not your cup of tea?" I tried to finish the line for her.

Hina shrugged. "If only they could settle down and study."

"You are just too serious, Hina-chan. Relax a bit more, smile more and talk more, and you will make many more friends."

"Okay, I will try…" said Hina, who was not very certain. She started by trying to smile into a mirror, but she was forcing herself too much, that her smile was actually scary. ("This is just so like Hinagiku-san," said Hayate with a smile.)

Hina dealt with things better at the dining table, although she had never used a knife and a folk before.

"Always start from the outside, it is a simple rule to follow," said I, quoting my father and my grand-father. I hated receiving manner lessons, but I loved giving them to Hina.

"No hurry and no sound. Eat slowly, and never speak when your mouth is full. As for how to use a knife and a folk…" I thought hard, but I didn't know how to teach her with verbal instructions. "… maybe you just watch closely at me."

On her first attempt, Hina held the folk on her right hand and the knife on her left ("Typical learning mistake," said Nagi with a nod.), but then she improved with every minute. People say that table manners are all about body co-ordination, and Hina certainly had the best control of her body. But then…

"It is so quiet here, it's making me nervous!" said Hina with a whisper – and a mouthful. "Can we talk?"

I was a bit surprised. "But you never talk in classes. You never speak to the kids, boys or girls!"

"Like you said, we were in classes, so I didn't talk!" hissed Hina. "We should not talk in classes, and we should work hard instead! I always work hard in classes, you see."

"Why do you work so hard, anyway?" I asked. "You are the best in our class, and you have such a good brain. You don't have to work hard to get good results, do you?"

Hina hesitated. "Because… I have to. I have to keep myself busy. If not, I couldn't stop myself thinking…" she hesitated once more. "… of my parents."

"The Kazamis?" I whispered. As she nodded, I attempted to ask her something I had wanted to know for some time. "What do you think about the Katsuras? They are very kind to you."

"They are," to my greatest surprise, Hina agreed with my comment. "They treat me and my sister very well. But they are not my parents. I am not a Katsura, and I will never be one. I am who I am, and I am…"

"Kazami, I know. Calm down." I finished the line for her, as she had been raising her voice by every syllable. "Girl, you are just so stubborn," I added with a sigh.

"There is nothing wrong with that," said Hina.

"Yes, there is," I said. "It makes you forget all about table manners. You have been talking all along when you mouth was full. Have a look at your side of the table."

Hina followed my words, and upon seeing the mess in front of her, she blushed and mumbled, "Sorry."

Hina genuinely believed that she would insist on using "Kazami" as her surname for the rest of her life. However, things were different after her meeting – or in better words, her duel – with that Fukada guy.

Remember those 3 kids who were beaten up by Hina? It turned out that they were from a small gang led by that Fukada, who was not a student of our tutorial school. Obviously those kids made up their story so that Fukada thought that it was Hina's fault that the fight broke out, and he was determined to avenge his boys. He came to our school one day, and challenged Hina to a duel.

"Why do I have to fight you in the first place? I fought your boys, so if they want revenge, they should be the ones to fight me!" demanded Hina.

"You are afraid of me, aren't you?" Fukada was clearly trying to provoke Hina. "So I see, you don't want to fight against strong people, Katsura. You are a coward!"

You know, it's Hina, so she fell into the trap right away. "I am not a coward, and I am not Katsura! I am Kazami!"

"Whatever. But can you deny that you are afraid fighting me?"

"Yes, I can! Let's… what is it, Miki?" I interrupted her by pulling her sleeves.

"You can't fight him, Hina-chan! You will get into trouble again!" said I. It is funny that I had to stop our model student fighting with others. Had she forgotten all about school rules?

"Well, I know how we could duel without breaking any school rules," said Fukada. "Come with me!"

We arrived at a park. Fukada gave Hina a wooden stick.

"I do Kendo, so I challenge you to Kendo. Let us say this is a practice match, but we fight until one of us gave up or could not stand up," he paused. "It wouldn't break any school rules attending a practice match," he added with a small grin.

"Do you know Kendo, Hina-chan?" I whispered. I had a feeling that something would go very wrong.

"No, I don't," admitted Hina. "But when it comes to fighting, I won't lose."

So the duel began, and it turned out to be a very one-sided match. Hina, who did not know Kendo, was completely outmatched by Fukada, but she had been so tough that she did not give up. She kept fighting for 15 minutes, until she was much wounded and exhausted, and finally fell down on the ground. It was Fukada's victory.

"This will be a lesson for you, Katsura. It is no use beating my boys. If you can't win against the strong ones, you remain a loser. Keep that in mind, Katsura!" he said, and then he turned and left.

Hina was still lying on the ground, face down. She began crying, stamping her fist at the ground, and saying things like "I am not Katsura, I am Kazami! I am not a loser! I am not a loser!" ("Poor Hina-chan…" said Izumi softly.) Finally she passed out.

Hina did not come to tutorial school for a week. I went to the Katsuras on the third day, and they said that Hina was suffering from high fever. They were very worried. "This girl is too tough for her own good…" they said.

On the fifth day, I received a call from Hina. She still sounded weak, but at least she could talk.

"The doctor said that I have to take rest for two more days, but I don't want to rest any more. I feel much better now," said Hina.

"Don't rush yourself, Hina-chan," I said quickly. "How are your wounds? Are they still painful?"

"Ah, still a bit," she said. "I have never been defeated so completely like this time, and I hate not giving a fight back. Once I am all well, I have to ask Dad and Mom to allow me to learn Kendo. I want to beat that Fukada in Kendo."

I paid no attention to Kendo. "Dad and Mom, you said?"

"Yes, Dad and Mom," she said with a weak laugh. "We are family now. From today onwards, I am Katsura. Katsura Hinagiku."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Bad people are always in groups, heroes are always alone**

"So, Hinagiku-san accepted 'Katsura' as her surname after the duel?" asked Hayate, as he could not understand what Hinagiku was thinking about. "What happened?"

"She didn't say, but my guess is that it was some embarrassing family moments, so Hina did not want to tell me," said Miki.

"What happened next?" asked Hayate.

"Believe it or not, but Hina began to grow into the girl as she is today. She became much more cheerful and friendly, and she began making friends," she paused and smiled. "Nobody knew what made her change so much."

"It is very obvious, actually…" whispered Nagi, but her voice was so small that nobody heard her.

"Hina left the tutorial school in December, after she had passed all her first year exams, but I kept inviting her to my home for her manner lessons, until I thought I had nothing else to teach her," said Miki. "She still has her forceful personality and a dislike for dresses, though. Well, she is a little boy inside, that's why."

"That's not entirely correct, Hanabishi-san," said Hayate with a smile. "I always see Hinagiku-san wearing dresses when she was living in our apartment. When I do the laundry -"

"Hayate, shut up on that nonsense, will you?" demanded Nagi.

"I am very sorry, milady," answered Hayate with a bow, even though he didn't understand what "nonsense" Nagi was referring to.

Nagi snorted. She had a look at her watch and said, "It is time to go. I am almost late for Kayura."

"Yes, milady."

They departed with Miki, Risa and Izumi, and headed home. Neither of them spoke, as both were absorbed in their own thoughts: Nagi thought about her hunting strategies, while Hayate considered what Miki had just told them.

"I couldn't have believed it, but Fukada-san had a fight with Hinagiku-san!" said Hayate suddenly. "I mean, when they met this morning, it didn't look like they had had a grudge with each other."

"Well, both of them were kids when they fought each other, and it has been 9 years since then," said Nagi wisely, but she found it a bit strange imagining Hinagiku younger than her. "Either they both grew out of it, or that something else happened which turned them from enemies to friends."

"Is that so?" said Hayate, as he considered Nagi's words.

"Come on, Hayate, stop thinking about it," said Nagi, impatiently. "It has nothing to do with – " She stopped talking as she noticed that three big men – in black – were heading straight at them.

"Who are these people? They look suspicious!" hissed Nagi.

"It seems that once you get the inheritance right back, kidnappers also return, milady," said Hayate, as he held Nagi in his arms. "Please be careful, milady! We have to be quick!"

And he began running in the opposite direction. Right behind them, the men in black also started running after them. Whoever they were, they meant no good to Hayate and Nagi.

* * *

><p>Hinagiku was on the way to the Kendo Club for practice. The Autumn Kendo Tournament would start in October, and it was time for some intensive practice. She was the defending champion, but she was also the only one at Hakuou who could make it to Top 64. "Our members are lacking in skills and determination, and it is my responsibility to raise their standards. We are just no doing well as a club," she sighed as she thought about the club's performance.<p>

"Well, it would be good if we could have some new blood at our club – some skilled swordsmen who really love Kendo. But then, if new blood comes this easily, then I wouldn't have to worry about anything, right?"

She opened the club house door and found that there were at least 6 new faces, who were already practicing with some of the older members. She blinked. Kendo Club was not a popular club at the school. The Seniors had told her that if there were 3 new members in one year, that would be an achievement worthy of a celebration. Now she had 6 new members! It was just so wonderful that she couldn't really believe her eyes.

She spent a few more moments watching their moves. They might not be as good as she was, but they were good enough to make into Top 32 – no, Top 16! This was going to be the best Tournament Hakuou ever had.

"Good afternoon, everyone," she greeted her club as Club Captain. "The Autumn Tournament would start in one month's time, and I really hope that we could do better this year. Practices would be tough, but remember that our efforts pay off through our performance."

She paused as she cleared her throat. "I am glad to see that we have 6 new members, and that they are already practicing. Could you all please take off your masks, and introduce yourselves to the club?" Only one of them obeyed, and to Hinagiku's surprise, it was – "Fukada-kun! It's you?"

"There is no need to look so surprised, Kazami. I do Kendo, remember?" said Fukada Kyosuke.

Hinagiku smiled. "Of course I do. You beat up a girl with your _so-called_ Kendo, remember?"

"Yes, but you agreed to the fight, so you could not complain, remember?"

"But I won over you in the Tournament 3 years later, fair and square, remember?"

"So I challenged you again, remember?"

"But you couldn't settle on calling me Katsura or Kazami, remember?"

"So you told me to call you…"

"Stop! That is a secret, remember?"

"Oh, my…"

The other members – all boys – turned their heads between Kyosuke and Hinagiku as if following a tennis game. They were all shocked that their Club Captain had known this new-comer already, and it seemed they were old friends. Some of the members began cursing in whispers.

"First Ayasaki, then this Fukada… Katsura-san surely is popular!"

"So this is the type for Katsura-san?"

"Damn it, does it mean I have no chance at all?"

Hinagiku had no idea what the boys were thinking, but finally she realized that she spent too much time talking to 1 out of 6 new members. She blushed slightly, cleared her throat, and turned to the other 5 members. They were still wearing masks.

Hinagiku frowned. "Like I said, take off your masks please. This is proper manner for Kendo practitioners. Now, come on!"

But none of them took off their masks. Instead, they all walked towards Hinagiku, and slowly raised their shinai.

Hinagiku, who started to think that something was wrong, took one step backward and asked, "What is going on here?" She readied her shinai. "Explain yourselves!" she demanded, and as she received no reply, she moved into a defensive stance. She was ready to defend herself – and her club members.

The other members, however, did not think that defense was the best strategy here. They all held up their shinai, and as they charged forward to attack, they were all roaring:

"AHHHHH!"

"Get away from Katsura-san, you bastards!"

"If I can beat these guys, surely Katsura-san would fancy me!"

"She'll fancy me!"

"Me!"

"ME!"

Hinagiku did not really understand the not-so-pure motives of her members, but she knew that they were no match for the masked people. "No, everyone, don't go! STOP!" she cried, but it was too late: in merely 10 seconds, all the Kendo Club members were down on the floor, moaning in pain.

"Boys!" Hinagiku screamed, but she knew that she had no time worrying about the others, as the 5 masked people had just turned to her, and were in stances to attack her. They didn't move forward, however.

Hinagiku scanned around the club house. There were only 7 people still standing: the 5 masked people, herself, and…

"Fukada-kun, stay back!" said Hinagiku. "I will take care of them!"

"What are you talking about, Kazami?" exclaimed Kyosuke. "I can't just stand here watching a girl fighting 5 men!"

"It is my responsibility to protect my club members!" said Hinagiku. "I don't want them to hurt you!" She used the words "members" and "you" in the plural, but as Kyosuke was the only member who wasn't hurt, every member on the floor thought that she was only referring to "Kyosuke my darling". Some of the boys moaned "Damn it!" and "Despair! This is an utter despair!"

Hinagiku merely thought that they were blaming themselves for not being able to help her. "It's alright, everyone," she said softly. "Leave this to me." She raised her shinai and got into stance – still defensive.

The 5 masked people held their stances for some more time, while they were monitoring their breaths. "Charge!" one of them roared suddenly, and all 5 men ran at Hinagiku at the same time.

* * *

><p>Hayate was still running at top speed with Nagi in his arms. He could still hear footsteps behind him, which meant that he could not shake the kidnappers – something that had not happened too often. Hayate frowned as he understood that they might be in huge trouble this time.<p>

One of the kidnappers suddenly took out a rope and threw it at Hayate. Hayate had no hands to push the rope away, so he could only jump to dodge it. However, a second rope arrived at that moment and got Hayate's right leg. His balance lost, Hayate fell and dropped Nagi onto the ground.

"Hayate!" Nagi was not hurt from the fall, but she had no time checking herself, as she was worried about her butler.

"Milady!" cried Hayate as he struggled to get up. "RUN!"

"No, Hayate! I am not going anywhere!"

"Please leave, mi – LOOK OUT BEHIND YOU!"

Nagi turned her head and saw a fourth man in black running at her. Nagi was rooted to the ground – she could not outpace this man anyway. She stared at the man as she waited for the anticipated kidnapping.

To her greatest surprise, the man completely ignored her. Nagi turned her head and found that the man was heading for Hayate with a knife in his hand. Nagi suddenly realized something.

"Hayate, watch out! They are coming after _you_!"


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Heroes outmatch any number of bad guys**

The 5 masked people all charged at Hinagiku, but at the last second one of them left the group. The person took an extra dash and struck his shinai at Kyosuke. Kyosuke reacted just in time to defend himself, but as he breathed out a "What?", it seemed that he was almost caught off-guard.

"Fukada-kun!" cried Hinagiku, but she stopped worrying after she saw that Kyosuke was able to fight his opponent. "Well, it means that I can't ask for his help any more, even if I need him," she whispered with a weak smile.

All her 4 opponents struck their shinai at Hinagiku's head. Hinagiku stepped to her right very quickly to dodge them. Her closest opponent swung his shinai at Hinagiku's waist. Hinagiku blocked the blow with her shinai, and then rose up her arms and delivered a blow at his face. The opponent was hit and stepped backward, but two of his companions stepped up and attacked Hinagiku. Hinagiku dodged again and struck at the fourth person, but her blow was blocked, forcing her to evade her opponents again.

Hinagiku knew very well that one shinai couldn't handle four at the same time, so she kept moving around the club house in order to restrict the number of blows she had to handle at the same time. She only struck when she could single out an opponent, and retreated at once no matter whether she successfully hit her opponent or not. With this strategy she had avoided being hit, but at the same time she could not take out any of her opponents, as she allowed too much time for them to recover from her hits.

This strategy also required Hinagiku to keep moving, without resting for even one second. It easily exhausted a person, and in merely 15 minutes Hinagiku started panting. As her heartbeat and breath became more and more rapid, Hinagiku thought to herself, "This is not looking good!"

* * *

><p>Hayate did not fully understand. "What? They are coming for me?"<p>

"Yes, they are! Be careful, they have weapons!"

Hayate stood up and dodged an incoming knife just in time. He found himself surrounded by the four men in black, who indeed paid no attention to Nagi's existence. This was the first ever time in his butler career that bad people aimed only at the butler, not the lady.

"What do you want?" demanded Hayate. "Please answer me!"

The men in black did not answer. Instead, they all pulled out their knives, marched forward and began their attacks. They simply had no intention to talk to Hayate.

"Fine, let's get this over as quickly as possible!" said Hayate and he charged forward as well. He was not afraid of them – if they did not have the confidence to face him one-on-one, there was nothing about them to be afraid of.

But then, while he was still a yard from the men, he sensed knife blades cutting through the air. He realized at once that he was in great danger, but he was too late – Four blades cut through his body, and he was covered in blood in no time.

"HAYATE!" he could hear Nagi screaming, but for one second he didn't know if he was dead or alive.

* * *

><p>In the heat of the battle, Hinagiku had a quick glance at Kyosuke, who was still fighting his opponent one-on-one. They were very well-matched, and neither of them looked like he had the upper hand. "Since when had Fukada-kun become so weak?" she mumbled, but she did not have time to think more, as the four masked people began their attacks again.<p>

In the next wave of attack, Hinagiku successfully hit one opponent in his face, and a thought suddenly came across her mind: "Maybe I can take this one out now!" As such, she raised her shinai again to deliver another blow in his face. However, her hands got hit just at that moment. Hinagiku lost grip of her shinai and it fell.

"I am such an idiot! I lost my patience and became too aggressive! That was a mistake I couldn't afford to make!" Without a shinai in her hands, she could neither attack nor defend, so she kept dodging between the oncoming blows.

"I need a sword! I need a sword! But I can't use the Shirosakura, so what do I do?" Her mind was running as quickly as she could, and as she faced another blow to her head she finally came up with an answer. "Masamune!" she cried.

In response to her call, a wooden blade was summoned out of thin air, and blocked the blow for her.

The four masked people all stopped their attacks as they stared at the wooden blade. It looked as if an ordinary wooden blade, but it was extremely sharp it could cut through metals. More importantly, its true power wasn't about its sharpness.

"Is this the sword he wants?" whispered one of the masked people.

"No, it is not! Haven't you read the data pad before this mission?" said another one.

"What mission? What are you talking about? What do you want?" demanded Hinagiku, still feeling the pain from the blow she just received. Fortunately she could still make good grips.

"There is no need for you to know! Now, die!" cried a third opponent.

The masked people began another wave of attack, but to their surprise, they found that Hinagiku moved much faster than before. The Wooden Masamune had the ability to maximize the physical abilities of the wielder. Hinagiku was an excellent swordsman without the Wooden Masamune, but she became the most powerful swordsman with the blade. She moved at a speed which none of her opponents could catch up with, and delivered much more powerful blows than before. Within one minute, she gave one of the opponents a critical hit, and he fell down. "This is going to work!" said Hinagiku with a smile on her face.

She was too powerful for the masked people to handle. Two of them were beaten in the next two minutes, and finally Hinagiku had only one opponent left.

"Let's go!" cried Hinagiku, as she initiated an offensive move for the first time in this battle.

* * *

><p>Hayate struggled to stand straight, and he cursed himself for underestimating his four enemies. They were fast and strong, and were armed with weapons. If he were a normal guy, he would already be dead.<p>

But then, Ayasaki Hayate, the combat butler, had survived injuries which were much more serious than this – at least, he could still stand up and move this time.

Yet, he had lost much strength through the injury, and couldn't fight properly any more. If he could not defeat these four men in his peak conditions, he certainly would not win now.

"It… it was just so like last time, when I went to save A-tan. King Midas did great damage to my body, and I wasn't able to move. Then… then…" he found it more and more difficult to concentrate and think by every second. "Then a mysterious hero… gave me Hinagiku-san's sword… Hinagiku-san's…" Without really thinking, he held out his hand. He didn't intend to grab anything, but he felt that he had grabbed something.

Suddenly, his mind became clear, and his body could move like he had not been hurt. He looked down at his hand to see what he has grabbed.  
>It was the Wooden Masamune – for Hayate, it was "Hinagiku-san's sword".<p>

* * *

><p>Hinagiku was about to deliver her final blow at the last masked person who fought her, but suddenly she felt that her hands became empty. As she stopped and stared at her hands, her mind also became empty. She had absolutely no idea what had happened.<p>

The masked person recovered from this surprising development, and began to launch his attacks. Hinagiku turned her head and found that great trouble was coming for her. She let out a scream and began dodging, and her brain woke up from the shock and began running: "This is bad! This is bad! I have lost my sword, and this man is attacking me! What do I do? What do I do?"

To make things worse, the person fighting Kyosuke chose this moment to strike successfully at Kyosuke's face. Kyosuke was knocked unconscious and fell to the ground. The person then joined his ally, and they successfully cornered Hinagiku in the end.

Hinagiku knew that she was in great danger, but she had nowhere to escape. "Think, Hinagiku, think! There must be a way to get out of this! There must be a way…"

The two masked people raised their shinai together, and delivered their final blow at Hinagiku…


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Hinagiku lacked delicacy**

Somewhere in the Hakuou Academy school campus, a young girl in kimono was… _walking_. She was not going anywhere, and it did not look like she knew where to go anyway. Finally she stopped wandering, and began to look around. From the looks on her face, you could tell that she was panicking.

"What is this place? What is this place?" Saginomiya Isumi asked herself, but sadly there was no answer. "I am supposed to go to school, but I can't find the school… This doesn't look like Nagi's house, and it doesn't look like my house. It looks like the school, but I don't think I am at school, so where is the school…?"

While she was still looking for the way to somewhere she was already at, she sensed a very powerful wave of energy somewhere nearby. Her face suddenly became very serious.

"The Student Council President has done it again, hasn't she?" she sighed. "Honestly, she is sometimes as troublesome as Nagi…"

And she began walking again.

* * *

><p>The two shinai struck at Hingaiku, and there was an almighty clash. The shinai did not meet Hinagiku's head, however, because something semi-transparent had just came out of thin air, and stopped the shinai. The semi-transparent thing was emitting light-blue rays. On closer inspection, we could see that it was a sword – the Shirosakura.<p>

"So, this is the sword he wants…" whispered one of the masked people.

"Then let's take it from the girl!" demanded the other one.

Hinagiku said nothing. She swung her sword, and sent an energy wave which rushed towards her two opponents. They fell and were sent to the other end of the club house. "What… what kind of power is this?" exclaimed one of them.

Hinagiku pointed the end of the sword at her opponents. "Stop fighting me, you are no match against me and this sword. Take your men and get out of our club house. You are not our members, and I don't want to see you ever again," said her.

"Don't you brag at us!" rebuked one of her opponents. "If it were't this sword, you wouldn't win!" They picked themselves up from the floor, but they didn't seem like leaving.

"If you fight me one-on-one, you wouldn't win," said Hinagiku. "Now get out!"

She swung her sword two more times into the air, sending two more waves of energy which blew all five masked people out of the club house – four through the windows, one through the door.

Knowing that they were completely overpowered, the five of them finally retreated.

Hinagiku looked down at her sword. "Well, Athena will certainly get mad…" she mumbled.

* * *

><p>Hayate began his attacks on the four men in black. The Wooden Masamune helped him greatly to recover from his injuries, and he had stopped bleeding. With a powerful sword in his hands and a more cautious approach, Hayate gained the upper-hand in this fight in no time. None of the men in black dared to come close to him any more.<p>

"Are you still fighting? Fight or flight, make your choice now!" he demanded, without the usual politeness in his tone – he had no need to be polite to his enemies.

One of the men in black suddenly pressed his fingers onto his left ear, as if he was listening to something. "What?" he said after a few seconds. He then looked up and said, "Abort! Abort!"

The men in black all started retreating at once, without another word.

"Stop! I have questions for you!" demanded Hayate, but he did not chase after them, as his first priority was always to take care of his lady. He approached Nagi, bowed to her and said, "Are you hurt, milady?"

"No, I am all fine. It is you who are hurt!" said Nagi. Her voice was shaking.

"I am fine," said Hayate with a smile. "I apologize in advance, but we have to delay our appointment with Kayura-san, as we need to report this incident to Hinagiku-san."

"Well, I guess you are right…" said Nagi, although she looked a bit reluctant at the idea of postponing her hunt with Kayura. "In fact, I have something to tell you as well."

"What is it, milady?" asked Hayate.

"Let's go to Hinagiku first," said Nagi. "It is about the attack, so if you want Hinagiku to know the story, then I have to feed this information to her as well."

* * *

><p>Things were not going very well in the Student Council Room.<p>

"I told you not to pull out the Shirosakura any more," said Athena with a cross-popping vein on her forehead. "And you disobeyed me on the very same day."

"It was reflex, okay?" said Hinagiku. "As a swordsman yourself, you would know you couldn't really control your reflexes in the heat of a fight!"

"But I thought you could control your wooden sword, couldn't you?" demanded Athena. "You are not an amateur any more, Hinagiku! You should know better than to let go your sword in a fight!"

"I did not let Wooden Masamune go!" said Hinagiku weakly, as she felt more and more insulted as a swordsman. "It just… disappeared!"

"How could a material sword just… _disappear_ into thin air?"

"Well, it came out of thin air in the first place," said Hinagiku, as-a-matter-of-fact-ly.

"That is not my point. I mean, there must be a reason for it to come and go. You summoned it and it came to you, so what have you done to make it go?"

"I did nothing!" cried Hinagiku.

"Yes, you have done something, Student Council President," said a voice, but it was not Athena.

Hinagiku and Athena stopped bickering and looked around.

Saginomiya-san?" they said together.

It indeed was Isumi. She was covering her mouth with her sleeves, looking very calm. "Good afternoon, Chairperson, Student Council President," she said. "Like I just said, the Student Council President has done something wrong, so the Wooden Masamune left her."

"Me?" said Hinagiku, and she was confused. Isumi said Masamune left her, so it was not her fault losing it in the battle, but then Isumi said that it was her fault… "What have I done wrong?" she asked.

Isumi sighed. "Student Council President, you lack delicacy."

"What?" asked Hinagiku, outraged. "Lack of delicacy" was a comment specifically reserved for Hayate. Was Isumi saying that she was as bad as Hayate, then?

"Well, Masamune is a delicate sword. He thought that you were his rightful owner, so he followed you even though being the treasure of our family. But then you chose Shirosakura ahead of him, so he was hurt," she paused. "Today, Hayate-sama also called Masamune to help him in his fight, so Masamune left you for him, in revenge of you leaving him for Shirosakura!"

"Why does it sound like I am in a love triangle with two swords?" exclaimed Hinagiku as she blushed. She considered Isumi's words for a moment. "So it was Hayate-kun's fault. If he did not call for Masamune, it would not have left me, and I wouldn't have to summon Shirosakura." A cross-popping vein came out of her head as she said, grinding her fists. "I have to punish him for taking the sword away from me…"

"Poor Hayate…" Athena sighed and shook her head.

Hinagiku then remembered something. "Saginomiya-san, why are you here?"

"I was looking for the way to school," said Isumi. It is so good seeing you outside the school area. I wonder if you can show me the way back to school."

There was a long moment of silence.

"Emm… Saginomiya-san?" began Hinagiku, very uncertainly. "You are already at school."

"Am I?" asked Isumi, looking around. "But I don't recognize this place."

"Of course you wouldn't, it is your first time you have been here. After all, only Student Council members and staff can enter – "

"Hinagiku-san!" the door swung open with a loud bang. Hayate and Nagi had just arrived.

"There you are, Hayate-kun!" Hinagiku fired up at once. "Listen up, you… Oh my God, you are hurt!" she calmed down at once as she saw him covered in blood.

"It's nothing, Hinagiku-san," said Hayate, smiling weakly. "I am fine."

"No, you are not," said Hinagiku firmly, as she examined his wounds. "You have to go to the hospital!"

"We have family hospitals," said Nagi simply. "They are the best in the world."

"Then you need some first-aid at the very least," said Hinagiku, her eyes still on Hayate. "Sit down, Hayate-kun. I'll get the first-aid kit."

"There is no need, Hinagiku-san. I am fine," said Hayate, a bit embarrassed at the thought that Hinagiku treating his wounds.

"Just – listen – to – me," said Hinagiku firmly, as she pressed Hayate onto the sofa. "Okay?" she added.

Nagi, Athena and Isumi all watched as Hinagiku began treating Hayate's wounds.

"You have to be careful, Hayate-kun. You don't have much blood to lose," they heard Hinagiku saying.

"Don't worry, Hinagiku-san. I am strong," they heard Hayate saying. "Ouch!" He screamed as the disinfectant touched his wound. "God! I hate disinfectants!"

Hinagiku giggled. "Be tough, Hayate-kun. You are a strong boy, right?"

"Haha, I guess I said so…"

Nagi raised her eyebrows. "I don't know why, but I am not happy watching this," she said.

"I agree," said Athena with a nod.

"Really? I think it is a fine sight," said Isumi. "Is the Student Council President still angry at Hayate-sama?"

"Who knows?" Athena shrugged. "Maybe she is just saving his life so she can kill him with her own hands."

"That would be Vegeta Complex," said Nagi.

"Vegeta?" asked Isumi.

"Well, Vegeta always says that he saves Goku's life so that he could kill him by himself," explained Nagi. "It's not exactly Tsundere, as Vegeta does not love Goku, so it is merely Vegeta Complex."

"Then the question is: Does Hinagiku love Hayate?" said Athena, although she already knew the answer.

Nobody answered that question.

Fifteen minutes later, Hayate finished treatment and began to tell his story.

"So the men came to kill you, instead of kidnapping Nagi?" asked Hinagiku, after he had finished. "That doesn't make sense."

"I agree," said Nagi with a nod. "And here's something that also makes no sense at all: Those men are actually SPs of the Sanzen'in Household."

"What?" exclaimed everyone.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Athena has a theory**

"The men who attacked me are your SPs?" Hayate could not believe his ears. "Are you sure, milady?"

"Yes. SP0004, SP0009, SP0013 and SP0017," said Nagi. Everyone was amazed by her ability to recognize her family employees, except Hayate who already knew it. Nagi paid no attention to them, and continued to say, "To be exact, they are not my SPs, as they are not assigned to protect me. They serve the old man."

"They _serve_ your grandfather?", asked Hinagiku. "Not protect, but serve?"

Nagi nodded. "Among the family SPs, they are the best of the best, and the old man thinks it is a waste of their abilities if they simply protect him, so he usually assigns them with special missions. If we were in a Mission: Impossible movie, then they are the IMF."

"And what kind of mission were they on, killing the family butler?" asked Hinagiku.

"Well, I suppose the Old Master never likes me very much," said Hayate darkly.

"Come on, Hayate-kun, it still makes no sense at all," said Hinagiku.

"I agree," said Nagi, nodding. "I must admit that I seldom understand what the old man is thinking, but I am sure that this 'mission' is not his idea. It just looks too stupid for him."

"Too stupid?" asked Hayate, who did not entirely understand. "What's so stupid in this mission?"

"For one thing, it was an assassination mission in broad daylight, and you were able to see the assassins coming for you," said Hinagiku. "If I were the mastermind behind such a mission, this would be the last thing I wanted my men to do."

"For another, they gave up too easily," said Nagi. "They aborted the mission moments after you got the wooden blade. It is one thing to abort a mission when it becomes impossible, but it is another to give it up altogether without really trying."

Hayate could not raise an objection, but he found it difficult to accept that he almost got killed by a not-a-mission. "What do you think, A-tan?" he turned to his last hope.

Athena remained silent for a while, deep in her own thought. "Hayate, when exactly did those SPs give up?" she finally opened her mouth, and asked Hayate this question.

Hayate thought about the battle. "In about a minute after I got the wooden blade," he said. "I am sorry, I wasn't really paying attention to the time, so I couldn't be too exact," he added weakly, as he was afraid that Athena was not satisfied with the answer.

Athena did not comment. "Hinagiku, when exactly did you summon the Shirosakura?"

"Let me see…" Hinagiku closed her eyes and replayed the battle scene in her brain. "In about 20 seconds after I lost the Wooden Masamune. I spent about another 20 seconds to send those five people out of the club house."

"What happened, Hinagiku-san? Were you – " began Hayate, who had not yet heard about the attack on Hinagiku. Athena held up her hand to stop him asking, as she had more pressing questions for her.

"What do you know about the five people who attacked you?" she asked. Hayate's question was answered.

"I thought they were our new Kendo Club members," said Hinagiku. "They never revealed themselves, so I couldn't tell who they were. Come to think of it, I couldn't even tell if they were Hakuou students."

"But you assumed that they were your members?" asked Athena.

"Not exactly," said Hinagiku, knowing that the Chairperson wanted an explanation of her club admissions procedure. "We allow new members to join our club after their first training session. We welcome anyone to join training sessions, as long as he or she is a current Hakuou student. I check if they are our students by seeing their faces. The problem with these people is that, they never listened to me when I asked them to take off their masks."

Athena nodded. "What if those people were not Hakuou students?" she said after a minute's thought.

"Then they had to get through our school guards even before they set a foot in our campus," said Hinagiku.

"But the Sanzen'in SPs got through our school guards," said Athena.

"Well, as you said, they are the Sanzen'in SPs. The guards would allow them in."

"What if those people who attacked you were also Sanzen'in SPs?"

"How do you know?"

"We never know, it is just an assumption," Athena appeared a little impatient.

"Well… that is possible," said Hinagiku thoughtfully. "But if your assumption is right then…"

"Then the attacks on you and Hayate would be related," said Athena, finally reaching her conclusion.

"Wait a minute!" said Nagi, who started to get angry. "How could you be sure that my family SPs attacked Hinagiku? Is there any proof?"

"I have no proof," admitted Athena. "But I have a theory which I think make sense."

"And what theory is that?" demanded Nagi. What made her so angry was that her family employees were condemned without proof, for an offence she considered insane. They might not be best friends, but she would never allow her SPs to do any harm to Hinagiku.

Athena looked up. "Listen, Hinagiku. This is all my speculation, but I think I have a very plausible theory, and you have to listen very carefully. Okay?"

"O-okay," said Hinagiku, who suddenly became nervous.

Athena closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again and said, "Sanzen'in Mikado wants the Shirosakura sword, so he is coming after you, Hinagiku."

The room remained silent for about a minute. Hayate, Nagi and Isumi all turned to look at Hinagiku, who had absolutely no idea what Athena was talking about.

"Wh – what does he want the sword for?" she asked.

"I don't really know. I only know that he wants it badly, that's all."

"But how do you know that?"

"He was the one who sent me in child form to live with you in the Violet Mansion," said Athena simply. "He expected that I would take the sword from you when I returned to my true form, or that I would absorb all of the sword's power. However, I did not take the sword from you, and the sword remains powerful in your hands, so his plan failed completely. He needs a Plan B."

"Is this why I was attacked?" asked Hinagiku.

"Exactly," said Athena with a nod. "He sent some of his men to attack you, so to force you to pull out a weapon. However, as you have two blades to choose from, he had to make sure what you pulled out would be Shirosakura. As such, he sent some of his best men to attack Hayate, who was in joint possession with you of the wooden blade. Once the wooden blade was gone from your hands, you had no choice but to call for Shirosakura."

"Athena, this theory doesn't work," said Hinagiku, shaking her head. "You worked out a designed plan from what already had happened. I couldn't believe that a person could design a plan which happens exactly as he has expected."

"Normally I would agree," said Athena. "But I am not so sure about Sanzen'in Mikado. He surely is the world's best in masterminding and manipulation. Sometimes he seems to be able to foresee the future, and he makes plans according to his foresight."

"If he really has such kind of foresights, then I guess I would have lost Shirosakura by now," said Hinagiku, who was not convinced.

Athena smiled at Hinagiku's persistence. "Well, he is still only human, and he doesn't always foresee things," she said. "I guess he expected that his five men could defeat you even if you used Shirosakura. However, it turns out that you are much more powerful than he had expected."

"I think it is because the Shirosakura has become more powerful in the hands of the Student Council President," said Isumi suddenly. "I sense greater energy from Shirosakura now, compared to three months ago. It shows that Shirosakura has good partnership with the Student Council President."

"And all the more reason for Sanzen'in Mikado to make you a target," said Athena. "Be careful, Hinagiku. I am sure that this is not his last plan for you and the sword, and I am not sure if you can handle him next time. Do not forget, he successfully forced you to pull out the sword today."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: People forget what they don't want to remember**

Nagi remained skeptical about Athena's theory.

"I may agree that this theory makes some senses," she said. "But I still doubt if this is enough to prove that the people who attacked Hinagiku were our men. Nobody saw their faces, remember?"

"As I have already said, this is just a theory, and I have no proof," said Athena. "In fact, if I had any real proof that Sanzen'in Mikado was behind the attacks, then we could do much more than just sitting here."

She turned to Hinagiku. "The most important thing now is to warn Hinagiku on a very possible plan that aims at her. She has the right and the necessity to know."

With that, Nagi raised no further argument.

Hinagiku left the Student Council Room shortly after the conversation. She did not intend to leave school – she still had work to do – but she did want a quick walk around the campus. She needed some time to consider what Athena had just told her.

Hayate was worried and had suggested to go after her, but the other girls had told him that it would be better to leave her alone for a while.

"She would be safe for now," said Athena. "At least for today."

"And in any case, we have to go as well, Hayate," said Nagi. "Kayura is waiting for me."

* * *

><p>Hinagiku's mind was running as she walked by the biggest pond in the campus.<p>

_"__Athena has the theory but she has no proof, and without that proof I cannot do anything against anybody."_

Suddenly she stopped and turned to the pond.

_"__But the fact is that I have just been attacked, and I actually agree with Athena that there would be more to come, whether it is from Director Sanzen'in or not."_

She grabbed a small piece of rock from the ground, and spun it into the water.

_"__In the end, I could not do anything even though I know that something is going wrong for me, and I hate it."_

The rock hit the water surface and jumped 6 times before it finally sank.

_"__This is just so like old times…"_

"Wow! Nice one, Kazami!" someone let out a small cheer. Hinagiku turned her head to the voice and saw Fukada Kyosuke.

"Oh, hello, Fukada-kun," said Hinagiku. "Sorry that I wasn't with you when you were sent to the hospital wing. How do you feel?"

Kyosuke smiled. "I am fine, thanks. Luckily that bastard did not hit me that hard."

"That would be good," said Hinagiku, and she let out a sigh of relief. "I am very sorry about the attack. It was my fault that those people came and hurt you and the others."

Kyosuke shook his head. "But you protected us, single-handed. I never knew that you are such a great Kendo practitioner now, Kazami."

"Well, I train very hard," said Hinagiku, laughing.

"And now I am falling behind," said Kyosuke, also laughing. "I have a lot to do to catch up."

"Then you should come to our club every time we have practice," said Hinagiku.

"I certainly will," said Kyosuke.

He turned to the pond, took a small rock from the ground, and spun it into the water. It jumped up twice before sinking.

"The other boys had told me that," he began, "I should have called you Katsura, not Kazami."

Hinagiku chuckled. "Well, they all know me by Katsura now. In fact, I think you are the only one in the world who would still call me Kazami."

"I thought of calling you Katsura, but you told me to keep calling you Kazami."

"Yes I did."

"But why?" said Kyosuke, a bit confused. "I thought you gave up the surname Kazami after you have taken up Katsura."

Hinagiku turned to the pond. "I never gave up. I love the Katsuras so much that I am very proud to be a family member, but it doesn't mean that I have to give up on my own parents."

She picked up a small rock from the ground. "I asked you to keep calling me Kazami, because I feared that someday I would start forgetting about my parents. I was small and I missed them, and the best way I thought of to remind myself of my parents, was to have someone to remind me of my original surname."

She spun the rock into the water. "Of course, it wouldn't be fair for you alone to call me Kazami while the whole school call me Katsura. So, please call me Katsura from now on, Fukada-kun."

She smiled at Kyosuke as the rock finally sank into the water after jumping up 7 times.

"So, Katsura… san?" said Kyosuke, naturally feeling awkward as he addressed Hinagiku in this particular way for the first time.

"Yes, Fukada-kun?"

"Could you show me how to do it?" asked Kyosuke, pointing at the pond. "I never made the rock jump up more than two times."

Hinagiku giggled. "Well, there is a special trick in it," she said as she placed a small rock in his hand. "Let me show you."

* * *

><p>Nagi began leaving the school for Cafe Douguri. She had agreed to go monster-hunting with Kayura at the coffee shop.<p>

"To be honest, I am a bit worried about Hinagiku-san," said Hayate suddenly.

"She must be feeling the pressure of the Old Master's plans against her."  
>Nagi didn't answer.<p>

"I hope we can do something for her – I mean, before anything happens," said Hayate. "We are members of the Sanzen'in family, after all, so maybe we can – "

"No, we can't, Hayate," Nagi interrupted him before could finish his sentence. "We have no proof that the old man was behind the attack on Hinagiku, or that he has any future plans with her, so we cannot even question him about anything."

Hayate knew that she was right. "But…" he began, but he did not really know what he wanted to say.

"Don't worry about her, Hayate," said Nagi. "Hinagiku is more than capable to defend herself, and she is tough enough to stand up against any challenges. She will be fine."

Hayate did not know what to say, and turned to look at the pond. To his surprise, he saw a pink-haired girl standing by the pond with a blonde boy. He only knew one such combination: Hinagiku and Kyosuke.

Hayate had a closer look at them, his heart beating hard. He could see that Hinagiku and Kyosuke were having fun by the pond, her hand touching his as she showed him how to spin rocks into the water. He could see that Hinagiku was smiling and laughing.

"What's up, Hayate?" asked Nagi, as she saw that Hayate had stopped walking.

"You are right, milady," said Hayate, who returned to Nagi. "Hinagiku-san will be fine."

* * *

><p>"Here comes two chocolate milkshakes, Nagi-chan, Kayura-chan!" said Nishizawa Ayumu cheerfully. She was an ordinary High School girl who served as an ordinary part-time waitress at Cafe Donguri.<p>

"We did not order these, idiot Hamster," said Nagi, her eyes on the screen of her PSP as she was busy hunting. "If you make too many mistakes, you are going to be fired!"

"It is not a mistake from me!" said Ayumu, her hands on her hips. "The Master gives you these, so make sure you say thank you!"

"I will pay for them, Master" said Hayate at once.

"Thank you for the offer, Hayate-kun, but you don't need to pay for the drinks," said Kaga Hokuto, the Master of Cafe Donguri. "Nagi-chan has been very helpful, so take these free drinks as my gratitude."

"Thank you very much, Master," said Hayate with a smile.

"I should be the one to say thank you. As you well know, we don't have many customers, so I often feel lonely here…" Kaga sighed as he suddenly became moody. "It is so good seeing that you bring a friend here."

"I see…" said Hayate.

Kaga looked over Nagi and Kayura. "This really reminds me of the old times. Hinagiku-chan used to visit my coffee shop every day when she was small, and I watched over her when she was doing assignment," he said suddenly.

"You said before that you were an old friend of Hinagiku-san," said Hayate.

"So you have known Hinagiku-san for many years?"

"I have known her since she was three, actually," Kaga chuckled. "I used to be an apprentice at their coffee shop. Her parents taught me how to brew coffee, and I often babysat Hinagiku-chan. She was pretty hard to handle, as she was too energetic for me."

"I see," said Hayate, smiling at the thought that a very small Hinagiku running all over the place, making troubles.

"To be honest, their business was bad, so I left them two years later and set up my own coffee shop," said Kaga. "I hadn't seen them for some time, until one day Yukiji-chan turned up here, and asked me if I could look after Hinagiku-chan during the day."

"What happened?" asked Hayate.

"Their coffee shop went out of business, and their parents were gone, leaving a huge debt to their children," said Kaga. "To make things worse, Hinagiku-chan did not have a school to go to because there was no parental consent, so there was no one to look after her while Yukiji-chan was busy working to earn a living. I agreed, and as Hinagiku-chan had nothing to do during the day, I set up assignments for her. You could say that I was the only teacher for her first year."

He paused and sighed. "It had been a very hard time for them," he went on. "It was most fortunate that they managed to repay the debt in less than a year – I still have no idea how they managed to do so – and were adopted by the Katsura household."

He turned to the coffee brewer. "Interestingly, Hinagiku-chan's childhood life – as I perceive – could be summed up by the special recipe of their family cafe." With those words, he began making coffee.

"The special recipe?" asked Hayate, as he watched the Master working.

"Yes, I'll show you," said Kaga. He did not speak for a few minutes, as he was busy brewing coffee. "Try this," he said finally, and handed Hayate a cup of coffee.

Hayate took a sip, and coughed immediately. "Man, it is so bitter!" he exclaimed, but as he finished the line, sweetness began to surface, and in about two seconds he was enjoying the warmth and sweetness of the coffee. It could be the most bitter but yet the sweetest coffee he had ever tasted.

"Well, this is… special," said Hayate, as he felt he needed to give the coffee a fairer assessment. "What is this called?"

"'The Wind Sees Daisy'," said Kaga. "The English translation for Kazami Hinagiku (風見 ヒナギク) - the original name of Hinagiku-chan. Hinagiku-chan loves this recipe very much, and asks me to make her this every time she comes as a customer."

Hayate said nothing. He reflected on the bitterness-sweetness combination of the coffee, on the story about Hinagiku he had heard so far, and…

"Master," he said after a moment. "Please show me how to make this blend of coffee."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: You have one chance**

"I think this will do," said Athena, as she put down a file which Hinagiku had given her a while ago.

It was 15:30 on 6th September. In the Student Council Room, Athena discussed with Hinagiku over the school affairs. The idea was to transfer the duties which should have belonged to Athena, but were transferred to Hinagiku during her absence from the school, back to her.

"I still think it is better for you take up those duties one by one," said Hinagiku, looking at the long duty list for Athena. "It takes time to pick them up."

Athena raised her eyebrows. "Who do you think I am?" she asked.

"It was only a suggestion," said Hinagiku casually.

"Thanks for that," said Athena, equally casually. "I must also thank you for taking up these tasks for me for so long. It wouldn't be easy studying and working at the same time."

Hinagiku raised her eyebrows. "Who do you think I am?" she asked, mimicking Athena. Both girls laughed.

"Now that you only have to deal with tasks which truly belong to you, I guess you will have a lot more time for yourself," said Athena.

"I guess you are right, and I might need a plan for my free time," said Hinagiku, and she shook her head. "It is at least three hours per day we are talking about."

"You are trying to make me feel guilty, aren't you?" asked Athena, frowning.  
>"No, I am not," said Hinagiku, surprised. "What makes you think so?"<p>

"Nothing," said Athena, shaking her head. "This girl is sometimes as insensitive as Hayate, really," she thought. "So what are your plans?" she asked, trying to move on with the subject.

Hinagiku thought for a moment. "I think I might go and help at Cafe Donguri more often," she said. "Master has been complaining all along."

"What else?" asked Athena. She was sure that as a High School girl, Hinagiku must have something more in her mind other than working. Something more… girly, that was.

"No idea yet," said Hinagiku with a weak smile. "Do you have an idea for me?"

Athena finally realized that Hinagiku was completely hopeless in girls' talk, so she decided to take the lead of this talk from this moment onwards. "Maybe you can go on a date," she said. "I know you have been quite close with a certain Fukada-kun recently.

Hinagiku blushed slightly, but to Athena's greatest surprise she did not panic. Instead, Hinagiku simply smiled and shook her head. "It's not like that," she said. It was not the play-it-down kind of denial which would mean that she was lying, but the honest denial of a not-a-fact.

"Why not?" asked Athena. "You see, he is good-looking and nice. More importantly, he clearly fancies you." She found herself more and more eager to push Kyosuke and Hinagiku together.

"I don't really know how to put it," said Hinagiku thoughtfully. "But the feeling is just not right. He was once my rival, then we became friends, but that's all. At no point had I had any romantic feelings for him."

"'The feeling is not right', huh…?" said Athena, considering her words. "You know what, Hinagiku? You sound like a girl."

"I _am_ a girl," retorted Hinagiku.

Athena smiled. "I still think Fukada-kun deserves a chance."

"He can make one if he is serious about it."

"I am quite sure he is going to ask you out soon, but the problem is whether you would destroy the chance he made," said Athena wisely.

* * *

><p>"Listen up, Risa, Izumi!" said Miki. "It is time for club activities!"<p>

Miki, Risa and Izumi were all in the Media Art Investigation Centre – in short, their club house. They went there because they had nothing to do, but they had nothing to do at the club house either.

"Why all of a sudden, Miki?" asked Risa lazily, her head lying against the table. "School is over, so we should not force ourselves doing anything, right?"

"You are wrong, Risa! You are just so wrong!" exclaimed Miki. "We haven't been filming for a long time! I even left my camera in my desk in Ch. 308! This is embarrassing! It is an insult to our filming souls, and it is an insult to our club!" She finished her lines by hitting her fist on the table.

"Hey… but I took out the camera and filmed myself in the same chapter," said Izumi. However, she suddenly remembered something. "Oh, no!"

Risa and Miki both stared at her. They had just discovered another weak spot of Izumi.

"Did you just say that you had been filming, Izumi?" asked Miki, her face coming closer to Izumi. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"And more importantly, where is the footage?" asked Risa , her face coming closer to Izumi.

"No, no! I didn't say anything! I didn't film anything!" squealed Izumi as she took a step backward.

"Izumi!"

"IZUMI!"

"NOOOOO—-!"

"Wait!" said Miki suddenly. She had just seen someone walking past the window. "Who's that?"

Risa looked out from the window and saw a blonde boy. "It's Fukada-kun. It can't be wrong!"

"Fukada, huh?" said Miki. Even since Kyosuke defeated Hinagiku in the park, Miki had never liked him. Besides… "This guy has been quite close to Hina, hasn't he? Fine, let me show him that he is far from good enough for Hina!"

She grabbed her camera and headed for the club house door. "Come on, Risa, Izumi!"

"Where are we going?" asked Izumi, who was relieved that her two friends had just let her go.

"We are going to record all the embarrassing moments of that Fukada!" said Miki. "I will make sure he never comes close to Hina again! I won't allow him to hurt her any more!"

* * *

><p>At 16:00 Hinagiku had finished all her tasks, so she left the Student Council Room. She found it extremely odd that she could go home so early – something she had never been able to do since becoming Student Council President.<p>

"Well, maybe I really should go to the coffee shop. Nagi and Ayumu are working today, so I think I can help in the kitchen." She had almost come to her decision when she heard someone calling her ("Hey! Katsura-san!") from behind. She turned and found that it was Kyosuke.

"Hello, Fukada-kun," said Hinagiku with a smile. "How come you are still at school? It's quite late already."

"The same goes to you, Katsura-san," said Kyosuke.

"I am the Student Council President, that's why."

"And I am just walking around the campus, that's why."

Hinagiku giggled.

Kyosuke looked at her for a moment. "So are you free now, Katsura-san?"

"Yes, I am. My job today is done," said Hinagiku sweetly.

"Then… how about you come with me for a walk?" asked Kyosuke, who managed to pull a straight face although he did blush a bit. "There is a place I want to show you."

Hinagiku rolled her eyes. "Are you taking me out for a date?" she asked, half-teasing.

Kyosuke shrugged. "I don't see why not."

Hinagiku considered for a moment. Then she remembered Athena's words.

_"I still think Fukada-kun deserves a chance."_

"Yes, of course," whispered Hinagiku, and she smiled at Kyosuke. "Why not?"

* * *

><p>"What?" exclaimed Miki in utter disbelieve. "She agreed?"<p>

Miki, Risa and Izumi were hiding behind a tree nearby, peeking and filming Kyosuke and Hinagiku. Miki had heard their every single word, but she could not believe her ears.

"Is… is it a date?" whispered Izumi, who was blushing furiously.

"It surely is!" said Risa, who had become very excited. "Come to think of it: 'The Private Love Life of the Student Council President'! It is breaking news!"

"Wow!" cheered Izumi.

"Let's go, Miki! We have to follow them!"

"You are right, Risa! We have to follow them!" said Miki through gritting teeth. Nobody knew that she agreed to follow them for a reason different from Risa's.

"Let's go!" said the three of them together, and they followed quietly behind Kyosuke and Hinagiku.

* * *

><p>"Where are we going, Fukada-kun?" Hinagiku asked, after walking for about half an hour. They had walked past the park, the shopping district and at least three coffee shops. Hinagiku began to think that Kyosuke wasn't taking her on a date at all, as they were not going to any of the above spots, where girls preferred for dating.<p>

"To tell you the truth, Katsura-san, I am taking you to the Headquarters of my family business," said Kyosuke with a smile. "There is something I want to show you inside."

"Your family business?" asked Hinagiku. She never knew what kind of business his family did.

"Yes," said Kyosuke, but he did not elaborate. "This is it, we have arrived," he said after walking down another street.

They stood in front of a tall silver building – it was a typical business building in the commercial district. "Deep Fields Weaponry…" Hinagiku read the sign at the building front door. "So your family deal with weapon?"

"To be exact, we are one of the suppliers of the military," said Kyosuke. "We do nothing with firearms, but we deal with cold weapons – mostly military knives. But I did not take you here for this. Now if you would excuse me…" with that, he grabbed Hinagiku's hand.

Hinagiku blushed at the sudden body contact. "Fu – Fukada-kun?" she asked, her voice slightly trembling.

"This is a restricted building, and I can only take you in if I tell everyone that you are my girlfriend," whispered Kyosuke. "For that purpose, please pretend that you are my girlfriend for the moment – just let me hold your hand, it will do." He thought for a moment. "And it would be even better if I could call you by a cute nickname."

"Use… use 'Hina' then," whispered Hinagiku, not even making eye-contact with him as she was thoroughly embarrassed. "My friends call me Hina."

"Thank you very much, Hina," said Kyosuke with a smile. "Let's go."

Hinagiku said nothing as Kyosuke led her into the building. She could feel her face burning. She felt odd about Kyosuke grabbing her hand – it was not exactly a comfortable experience.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: Unforgivable**

"Oh, my God!" cried Risa, who was peeking at the entrance of Deep Field Weaponry from across the street. "He took her hand and they went in!"

"They have a very strange idea of romance," said Izumi. "Why would they date in an arsenal?"

"You don't understand, do you, Izumi?" demanded Miki. "This makes perfect sense for Hina! I could say that a shining sword would make Hina happier than a frilly dress! This guy has done the research! This guy has done the calculation! This is unforgivable! This is unforgivable!"

"Calm down, Miki! It is not the time to get mad about this!" said Risa, as she could almost see steam coming out of Miki's head. "The most important thing now is to record every single move of their date!"

"Unforgivable! Unforgivable!" Miki kept on mumbling as if she could not hear Risa. Izumi and Risa had no choice but to drag her to the entrance. A guard came forward and stopped the girls.

"No unauthorized entrance," said the guard. "Please leave."

"As expected," said Miki bitterly.

"Then what do we do?" asked Izumi.

"Let's just wait here," suggested Risa. "We can resume filming once they come out from that building."

* * *

><p>Kyosuke showed Hinagiku around the first floor of the building, where there were many weapons displayed in the showcases. Hinagiku looked at the weapons with great interests, quite forgetting that Kyosuke was still holding her hand.<p>

As the young master of the business, all the staff members stood up and greeted Kyosuke as he passed by. None of them paid any attention to Hinagiku, although one or two female staff members exchanged words in each others' ears.

"Oh, look! That must be the girlfriend of our young master!"

"She is beautiful, isn't she?"

"She seems to like our products! Isn't that odd for a girl?"

"Maybe that's exactly what the young master likes in her!"

"Come on…"

Hinagiku did not hear a single word. "This is amazing!" she said to Kyosuke instead. "These are fine weapons. I could see why the military buy weapons from you."

Kyosuke chuckled. "Yes, indeed. We make good fortunes from doing business with the military, but this is only a part of our business." He led her to an elevator. "What I want to show you is in the basement."

"The basement?" asked Hinagiku, surprised. "Is there any secret weapon in this building?" She was under the impression that there would always be secret weapons in the basement of arsenals.

"Well, it indeed is a secret weapon… against a specific person," said Kyosuke. Hinagiku frowned at the ambiguity of his words. She noticed the uncomfortable feelings in her hand again.

"Can you let go my hand, please?" she asked, as she became more and more embarrassed.

"I am sorry about that, Hina," said Kyosuke, and he let go her hand. "I apologize."

The elevator door opened and they arrived at a considerably darker hall. Hinagiku gaped at the display: Ancient swords, armour, helmets… all were extremely valuable antiques. Hinagiku had the feeling that, if these items were to put on sales, Nagi and Athena were the only people who could afford the price.

"Impressive, isn't it?" asked Kyosuke. "As you can see, my family trade valuable antiques as well. You can't imagine how crazy people can get when they are bidding for the items they want, but we make huge money out of their craziness."

Hinagiku did not comment.

"You see, the basic concept of a dealer is simple: to find and to sell. Recently I spotted a very interesting item, which I am sure would break our record selling price." He turned to Hinagiku. "And the item is the Shirosakura sword which you own."

"What do you want?" demanded Hinagiku, who took a step backward as she realized what Kyosuke's intention was.

"Name a price," said Kyosuke simply. "As your friend, I am willing to pay whatever amount you want for the sword."

Hinagiku shook her head. "I am sorry, Fukada-kun, but Shirosakura is not for sale," she said very firmly.

Kyosuke raised his eyebrows. "Is there any reason for that?" he asked.

"Of course," said Hinagiku. "I know the power of the sword, and I know how much damage it could bring to the world if it falls into the hands of bad people. If you admit that I am the owner of the sword, then you must know it is a risk I cannot take!"

"I would take the risk if I were you," said Kyosuke, his face suddenly hardened. "Just imagine how much money you could get by selling the sword to me!"

Hinagiku laughed. "You might not believe it, but money is not what I want." She paused as she looked into Kyosuke's eyes. "There are so many things in this world you cannot buy with money, Fukada-kun. My sense of responsibility would be one."

Kyosuke grinned. "As expected of the Student Council President of Hakuou Academy," he said. "However, I am sure that there is one thing which you would exchange Shirosakura with."

He walked towards one end of the hall, and pushed his hand on the wall. Apparently there was a palm scanning device on the wall, and once his hand was scanned, a tunnel appeared from the wall. "Please come over here, Hina," he said to Hinagiku. "I am going to show you the secret weapon."

"W – wait!" cried Hinagiku as she hurried to him. She let out a small scream as she saw what was in the tunnel.

It was a small jail, with cells on both sides of the tunnel. About five people were trapped in these cells. Most of them were very skinny, and did not seem to be moving at all. It almost looked as if they were – dead.

Hinagiku looked at Kyosuke. There was much fear, but even more fury, in her eyes. She could not speak – she was too angry to say anything to Kyosuke.

"Please don't look at me with those eyes, Katsura-san," said Kyosuke with a smile, as he called Hinagiku "Katsura-san" again. "As weapon dealers we often come across people who are against us, so it is necessary to lock some of them here. Have a closer look at them, please. There is someone you know, I suppose."

Hinagiku turned her eyes to the cells. When her eyes turned to the third cell, she almost felt that her heart stopped beating. Her whole body trembled as a thought came to her mind…

_"__It can't be… It can't be!"_

She rushed towards the cell, grabbed the bars. Tears started pouring down from her eyes as she yelled from the bottom of her heart…

"DAD! MOM!"

It was indeed Hinagiku's parents – not the Katsuras, but the Kazamis. They looked nothing like the Kazamis in Hinagiku's memory, other than their hair colour – Mr. Kazami was blue while Mrs. Kazami was purple. Yet Hinagiku recognized that they were her parents. It had little to do with what she saw from them, but what she could feel from them.

The Kazamis raised their heads very slowly and looked up at Hinagiku. It took them some time before they recognized it was their daughter calling at them. Mrs. Kazami smiled, slowly stretching her skinny hand to touch Hinagiku's fingers. Hinagiku felt her mother's hand was icy cold, she could take it no more…

"Mom and dad, please stay back!" cried Hinagiku as she took one step backward. "I am going to save you right now!" She summoned Shirosakura and struck at the cell bars with all her might…

"No, don't do it!" cried Kyosuke, as he tried to stop Hinagiku, but he was too late – with an almighty clash, Shirosakura was repelled by an invisible barrier. Hinagiku screamed as she was knocked against the wall behind her. Shirosakura fell onto the ground.

"We have installed magnetic barriers to keep these people from jail-breaking! You could have damaged the sword by striking it against the barrier, you fool!" barked Kyosuke as he bent down to check on Shirosakura. To his relief, the sword remained intact. He tried to pick Shirosakura up, but his hand was likewise repelled by the sword. Shirosakura then disappeared into thin air, as if it had fled the scene.

"Very well, I couldn't just take you away, could I?" He turned to Hinagiku, who was now sitting on the ground with her head down, and did not even make a sound. "Transfer the sword to me, now!" he barked his order, as he grabbed Hinagiku by her wrist and pull her up.

Hinagiku did not say anything.

"It seems that you cannot even think at the moment," said Kyosuke. "Fine! I will give you some time to make your decision. But make it quick, and don't be silly enough to call the police! Now, come!" With that, he began dragging Hinagiku out of the jail area.

Hinagiku did not even attempt to struggle. She only managed to hvae a final look at her parents' faces as she was helplessly pulled away from them. "Dad! Mom!" she wanted to cry, but no sound came out of her throat.

Kyosuke assumed himself to be Hinagiku's boyfriend again as they entered the elevator. He took Hinagiku's hand instead of her wrist, although a red mark became visible around the latter.

Hinagiku had not recovered from the shock in the jail area, but she regained enough awareness to get angry at Kyosuke. She wanted revenge, right there and right then, no matter how insignificant it might be…

"Did you have fun in our basement, Hina?" asked Kyosuke gently, as the elevator door swung open. He was trying to give the staff an impression that he had treated his girlfriend very well.

"Let go," whispered Hinagiku.

"Pardon?" asked Kyosuke.

"I said, LET! GO!" she shouted very loudly as she shook off Kyosuke's hand, and – "YOU… IDIOT!" – she gave a grand slap to his face.

The floor had become very silent, as every staff member witnessed their young master being slapped by his "girlfriend" and falling to the ground.

"What was that supposed to mean, Hina?" asked Kyosuke as he covered his face with one hand, pretending innocence.

"Don't you call me Hina! I don't want to see you ever again!" shouted Hinagiku, beside herself. Tears began to fill her eyes again. She wanted – and needed – to cry, but she was determined not to show any more weakness to the bastard she had just slapped. She bit her lips to stop herself crying, and ran towards the exit without looking at Kyosuke any more.

Hinagiku ran out of Deep Field Weaponry. She couldn't do anything at the moment. She could only run.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: It's a small world after all**

Miki, Risa and Izumi were still at the entrance of Deep Field Weaponry. As they did not have anything to do, time seemed to be passing extremely slowly for them, and soon they were bored.

"What takes them so long?" demanded Miki, as she kept pacing around. "It must have been an hour since they entered this building!"

"It has been 15 minutes only, Miki!" said Risa after checking her watch. "Calm down."

"But it is so boring here…" said Izumi with a yawn. "Let's go back. If Fukada-kun is going out with Hina-chan, we have a lot of chances to film them."

"OHHH! For once, Izumi said something which made sense!" said Risa, clearly impressed.

"What do you mean, 'for once'?" protested Izumi.

"Let's go, Miki!", said Risa, ignoring Izumi.

"No, I am staying here!" said Miki firmly. "You can go if you want to."

"What are you doing, you three?" said a voice from behind.

Miki, Risa and Izumi all jumped and looked around.

"Yukiji, don't speak so suddenly from behind," said Miki as she sighed. "You scared us."

"Ah? Sorry about that," said Yukiji, who did not sound like she was sorry at all. "So what you are doing here? It doesn't look like you are doing anything at all, by the way."

"How rude!" said Miki, Risa and Izumi together. "We are doing something very important, Yukiji! And it is something important to you as well!" added Miki.

Yukiji did not look like she cared. "What? This is about me? What could that be?"

"It is not about you, Yukiji, but your sister!" said Miki. "She is on a date with our new boy Fukada!"

"What?" said Yukiji, suddenly alarmed. She had heard that many boys in Hakuou liked her sister, but so far no boys – other than one certain Azumamiya Koutarou – had had the guts to ask her out. Somehow she was impressed by the courage this new boy had shown, but then…

"Are you really sure they are on a date?" she asked. "It might be that they are going to somewhere together merely as friends."

"But he held her hand," said Risa.

"And she did not reject him!" said Izumi, who blushed.

"It can't be wrong, Yukiji!" said Miki. "How could we, the experts on love and gossip, go wrong with this?"

"Well…" began Yukiji, who was still very unconvinced. Luckily for her, the entrance door of Deep Field Weaponry opened at that moment, so everybody turned their attention to the door.

It was Hinagiku who came out of the door. She was covering her face while running very fast, so she did not see her sister, who was also moving towards her, and they bumped together.

"Ouch! Hina, watch out when you walk!" said Yukiji. She found it quite odd – it was one of the very few times she lectured Hinagiku. She found it even odder that Hinagiku did not retort. She looked down at Hinagiku and found that she had begun to sob in her chest.

"Onee-chan! Onee-chan!" cried Hinagiku like an injured child. Nobody but Yukiji knew that Hinagiku used to cry like this before, when she was very small.

"What happened, Hina?" asked Yukiji soothingly, as she was touched by this distant but familiar bonding with her sister. "Is something bothering you?"

When she was small, Hinagiku would begin speaking out loud what was bothering her. This time, she only kept nodding, and cried even louder than before.

"Hey… hey…" mumbled Yukiji. As it was a relatively new situation for her, Yukiji had no idea how to handle. She looked over Hinagiku's head, and mouthed "What do we do?" to the other three.

Miki sighed. "Well, we can't stand here forever," she said. "Let find somewhere we could sit down, and maybe talk with Hina if she is… ready."

"But where could we go?" asked Izumi. "We need a warm, comfortable and quiet place to do our girls' talk."

"I know one place," said Miki.

* * *

><p>Ayumu and Nagi were on duty at Cafe Donguri this day. Unfortunately there was not even a single customer. Kaga would say it was "one of those days", but Nagi had the feeling that it was everyday.<p>

"I want to go home now!" moaned Nagi, who was laying her head on the table. "It is so boring here, I don't want to work any more today!"

"Don't be like that, Nagi-chan!" said Ayumu, who was keeping her guard on. "Customers could show up at any time, we have to be ready! You can't let customers see you being lazy!"

Nagi snorted. "What are you talking about? I don't see any – "

The door opened. "Welcome!" Ayumu greeted the arriving customers at once.

"Oh, no!" whispered Nagi as she jumped up from the table, and hurried to join Ayumu. "Welcome – What? It's you." She had adopted a much more disinterested tone when she saw Miki, Risa and Izumi entering the coffee shop.

"What do you mean 'It's you', Nagi-chan?" asked Miki, annoyed. "This is not the way to treat customers, especially when you know them!"

Nagi ignored the lecture. "What brings you here today? I have never seen you, customers."

"Well… it's her," said Miki as she pointed at Hinagiku, who was entering the coffee shop with Yukiji. Hinagiku was still crying in Yukiji's chest, although not as hard as before.

"Hina-san!" exclaimed Ayumu as she rushed towards Hinagiku. "What happened? Is there something wrong?"

"Well, we would want to know too, but – " said Yukiji, but she stopped as she turned to Ayumu. She had an impression that she had seen this girl before. "Hey, you are…?"

Ayumu also looked at Yukiji, and after a moment's thought she realized whom she was. "Kazami-sensei! It's you!" said Ayumu joyfully. "Long time no see!"

"Oh! You are Nishizawa, right?" said Yukiji, finally remembered. "Look at you! You have all grown up!"

Ayumu giggled. "So, emm… you are Hina-san's sister, right? It's a small world, after all."

"Yes," said Yukiji thoughtfully. "It is."

Miki cleared her throat. Ayumu and Yukiji realized that it wasn't time for their gathering, as Hinagiku needed their attention.

They all sat down at a table. Hinagiku buried her head in her arms on the table. She had stopped crying and become very quiet. It did not seem like she would talk in this state either.

"So…" began Yukiji, who felt that it was essential for Hinagiku to say what actually had happened. "You must have had a very bad time in that building, Hina, but I need you to talk. There is no way we can help you if you say nothing."

Hinagiku shook her head, which was still buried in her arms. "I – I can't. He – he warned me not to ca – call the police, otherwise… otherwise…" she began sobbing again as she imagined what could happen to her parents if they called the police.

Ayumu held her arm around Hinagiku's shoulders. "It's fine, Hina-san, we won't call the police," she said soothingly. "But you have to tell us what happened. You see, everybody is worried about you, so you have to let us know."

Hinagiku looked up very slowly, and saw that everyone was looking at her. "Re – really? You won't call the police?" she asked helplessly.

Yukiji hesitated. Depending on what exactly happened, it could be necessary to inform the police, but the most important thing at the moment was to have Hinagiku to speak out. "Of course we won't," she said with a smile. "Trust me, Hina. I am your sister."

Hinagiku looked at her sister. "Onee-chan," she began, and took a deep breath before she continued. "I – I …" she paused. Everyone, especially Yukiji, desperately wanted the answer, but they did not hurry Hinagiku. They knew that it needed time for Hinagiku to gather enough courage to speak. After about half a minute, Hinagiku finally finished her sentence. "I saw… our parents."

"What?" said Yukiji, who was both relieved and alarmed. She was relieved that Hinagiku did not give the expected answer which she feared most, but she was alarmed that Hinagiku gave the most unexpected answer. "Wh - what do you mean, our parents?"

"Our real parents, Onee-chan," said Hinagiku. "I don't know how, but – but Fukada-kun managed to capture our real parents."

"Capture?" asked Nagi. "You mean he kept your parents in that building?"

"Th – that's right. I – I saw them. They were very thin. They seemed like dy – dying. Mom touched me, and s – she was so c – cold. I – I wanted to save them, but – but I couldn't!" said Hinagiku, and she could not contain herself anymore. She buried her head in her arms again and began crying.

"Oh, my God!" whispered Yukiji. Cold fury suddenly rose within her. "How could he have done this? What is wrong with this boy?" She felt that tears were filling her eyes. Suddenly, she understood why Hinagiku was crying so hard, and something came across her mind. "I am sorry, Hina, but I have no choice. I must call the police. I must call the police!"

"Don't do it!" shouted Nagi, as Yukiji had stood up. "Don't unsettle Hinagiku even more! You promised her, remember?" Yukiji did not move as she was having a fierce battle in her mind. Risa and Izumi helped her to sit down.

Hinagiku did not seem to have heard anything. She had almost completely lost control, and said anything which came to her mind. "I – I don't know why it happened! I thought… I thought Fukada-kun has grown up! A – Athena asked me to – to try to go out with him. I went and – and he showed me my – my parents! He – he held my hand and I – I did not reject! I was so – so stupid! I am so u – useless!" With that, she began crying again, and said nothing more.

"Hina-san, don't say things like that, it's not your fault!" said Ayumu, who was almost close to tears. "There must be a way to save them! There must be a way!" She then began to cry as well.

Kaga, who had been watching the girls talking, sighed and shook his head. "It really is very bitter, Hinagiku-chan."


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: A part of me will always be with you**

Nobody in Cafe Donguri spoke, as they watched Hinagiku crying. Everybody knew that they had just heard about a very serious case of criminal offence - while the parents of their friend were the victims - but they did not know what to do. Usually Hinagiku would be the one to make decisions, but not this time – not when she was in such a state, anyway.

Hinagiku kept on crying. Yukiji placed a hand on Hinagiku's head, and kept patting her. It had been a very useful way to comfort Hinagiku when she was small, and Yukiji could only hope that it still worked after all these years. It worked – as Hinagiku finally stopped crying after 15 minutes. It seemed that she had fallen asleep – or fallen into deep thoughts.

Kaga offered some hot chocolate to everyone, but they all left it on the table. The drinks kept smoking with steam as everyone awaited a move from Hinagiku.

After another 15 minutes, Hinagiku made an "Emm…" sound, and began to raise her head. Her face was covered in tears, and her eyes and nose had become very red. "I – I am sorry making you worry," she said hoarsely. "I am better now, I guess."

Everyone looked relieved. "Go and wash your face, Hina-san," said Ayumu. "It helps you clear up your mind."

Hinagiku forced out a smile. "I must be very ugly," she said as she took away her tears with her hands.

Ayumu shook her head. "No, that is absolutely wrong, Hina-san," she said gently.

"Thank you, Ayumu."

As Hinagiku headed towards the washroom, the others began talking.

"Is Hina-chan really alright?" whispered Izumi.

"Well, even if she is not, at least she has regained enough toughness to pretend that she is fine," said Miki. "She is such a fool, bottling herself up."

"Well, she hates losing, doesn't she?" asked Nagi. "I think that's why."

Ayumu shook her head. "It is not true, Nagi-chan. Hina-san simply doesn't want anyone to worry about her," she paused and sighed. "She thinks she would be a trouble for people if they have to worry about her. She chooses to pretend everything is fine, so that people won't have to worry about her. Really, Hina-san is just too kind."

"That is the most likeable and most unlikable part of her," said Miki. "She needs to trust us more."

"Well, I think she would, if you girls are a bit more trustworthy," said Nagi.

"How rude!" said Miki and Ayumu together. Nagi shrugged and did not respond.

A few moments later, Hinagiku came out of the washroom. She sat down by the table, took a breath, and began to speak. "I am very sorry for troubling you with my family business. I – I cried because I did not know what to do, but I will think about it. Please do not worry, as everything will be fine!"

She smiled, in an attempt to reassure her friends and sister. However, they did not look very convinced.

"Hinagiku," said Nagi. "Whether you like it or not, we are going to worry about you, so don't face this alone. We are going to help you, even if you say that you don't need it, so cut all the crap and tell us what to do for you."

Hinagiku blushed slightly, but she found that she could not reject Nagi's offer. "Thanks, Nagi," she said simply. Nagi smiled and turned to Miki and Ayumu, mouthing "See?"

Miki and Ayumu both looked at Nagi, amused.

Hinagiku coughed to hide the slight embarrassment. "I think you already heard me, but I want to ask you once more: Please, do not call the police, at least for now," she paused. "Do not get me wrong. Fukada-kun is illegally entrapping my parents, along with some other people. I must – we must – rescue them, and turn Fukada-kun and his family to the police. However, it is highly risky to call the police now, so I – we – have to wait." Everybody smiled as she kept changing the "I"s into "we"s. She was not taking this alone.

"Well, then what are you going to do?" asked Risa.

"I hate to say it myself, but I say patience," said Hinagiku. "There is something Fukada-kun wants from me, so I am sure that Fukada-kun will come to me again soon. So please, don't call the police for now, okay?"

Nobody but Nagi knew what "thing" she was referring to, but they did not pursue the subject. They saw determination in Hinagiku's eyes. They were sure that she knew what she was thinking. It was the Hinagiku whom they had trusted before, and whom they could trust again this time.

* * *

><p><em>"<em>_Dad! Dad! Mom! Where are you? Where are you?"_

_"__We are here, Hina-chan. Don't be afraid!"_

_"__Dad! Mom! I thought you were gone! I am so scared!"_

_"__Do not be afraid, Hina-chan. We will always be with you."_

_"__Always?"_

_"__Always."_

_"__I love you, Dad and mom!"_

_"__We love you too, Hina-chan. That's why we will always be together."_

Hinagiku opened her eyes, and found herself lying on her bed. Mr. and Mrs. Kazamis were nowhere to be seen.

"It was a dream, huh?" Hinagiku whispered. She felt a tear running down her cheek.

Hinagiku went to the dining room and found her mother, Mrs. Katsura, was making breakfast.

"Oh, good morning, Hina-chan!" she said cheerfully.

"Good morning, mom," said Hinagiku. Her mother beamed at her, and resumed cooking. There was a moment of silence.

"Mom," began Hinagiku.

"What is it, Hina-chan?"

"Emm…"

_I love you, mom._

"No."

_I never want to lose you._

"Nothing."

_Please be always with me._

"Forget it."

_Never leave me alone._

"I am sorry, mom."

"No, it isn't a matter, Hina-chan," said Mrs. Katsura, a little bit confused.

* * *

><p>It was another quiet school day for Hayate. Nagi went to school on time, no kidnapping and assassination, no bleeding, no wrath of Hinagiku... It would mean nothing for any other person, but Hayate was actually grateful for his "good luck". Indeed, for him, no news was always good news.<p>

His day was so quiet that he could turn his attention to something else. He could sense that there was something wrong between Hinagiku, Yukiji and Fukada Kyosuke. Hinagiku, for one, did not respond when Kyosuke greeted her, and she actually looked angry as he spoke. Yukiji's eyes became murderous every time she looked at where Kyosuke was sitting - or at least somewhere around there.

Hayate had no idea what had gone wrong between the three. Nagi did not mention anything to him last night, because she knew that Hayate would start firing questions at Hinagiku once he saw her, and the last thing Hinagiku wanted at the moment was Hayate's insensitive questions.

Hayate's day became even more empty as he did not have to look after Nagi this afternoon, as Chiharu was taking Nagi to Suirenji Ruka's signing event today. According to them, Ruka had just released a new album following her most recent concert. "Ruka-san really had a busy schedule," said Hayate with a sigh. Sometimes he worried about her for the heavy workload.

Without duty with his lady, and without a shift at Cafe Donguri, Hayate found his day horribly long. He had devoted his life - at least, the best years of his life - to serve Nagi, which meant that he did not really have a private life. Once he was discharged of his duties, even for an afternoon, he had nothing to do. Time had come for him to think of something to do on his own.

He did not really know why, but he found himself considerably concerned about Hinagiku. _"Well, Hinagiku-san looked strange today,"_ Hayate thought to himself._"Maybe I should go and ask what had happened between her and Fukada-san."_

It clearly was something Nagi had not considered while deciding not to confide in Hayate anything about "that Fukada guy" and Hinagiku.

* * *

><p>Hinagiku was on her way to the Student Council Room. She felt a bit dizzy; Kyosuke had not mention her parents when they met this morning, but she had wasted a lot of energy expecting him to say anything to her. <em>"Maybe it is his idea of toying me,"<em> Hinagiku thought to herself. _"He might want to wear me out so that I would agree to exchange Shirosakura for my parents with him. Like I would let that happen!"_

But she had started wondering if she really had to insist keeping the sword to herself. _"I mean, I am not that special, right? Of course the sword could be used to do bad things, but it doesn't mean that things would be better if I remain its owner, right?"_ Just by arguing with herself over such a subject was exhausting as well.

She was not sure if she was in the right mood to handle school business today, but Athena had promised her that she would not have much to do today. She sighed and started to pace up, but then she saw someone she knew. It looked like he was expecting her. "Fu - Fukada-kun!"

It indeed was Fukada Kyosuke. He was wearing the same smile on his face, but now Hinagiku could see that he had cruel and cold eyes. _"How could I not noticed his eyes before?"_ Hinagiku cursed herself.

"You look much better now, Katsura - no, I mean Kazami," said Kyosuke. No more "-san" suffix. "I suppose it means that you have decided whether to do business with me?"

Hinagiku shook her head. "This is not business. I had never heard of a fair business in which one party negotiates with captives in his hands!" she said furiously.

"Then maybe you should have some lessons on business, Kazami," said Kyosuke. "Let me assure you that, my own parents' lives are under threats every other day, just because we do business on weapons. It is a world where the fittest survive, Kazami, so don't blame me."

"But it doesn't mean that you can hold my parents as captives!" shouted Hinagiku, her eyes quickly filling with tears. "We have not done anything wrong to you!"

"I think you have to reconsider what you have just said," said Kyosuke, his smile suddenly disappeared. "I don't think you have any idea what your parents had done."

"What...?" began Hinagiku. She suddenly had a feeling that something was wrong.

"What is going on here?" said a voice. Hinagiku and Kyosuke both turned, and saw Hayate.

"Hayate-kun?" said Hinagiku, who blinked. "Why are you here? Aren't you with Nagi?"

"Milady is with Chiharu-san," said Hayate with a smile. "I was looking for you, Hinagiku-san."

"Oh..." Hinagiku did not really know what to say. She simply blushed.

Hayate smiled at her again, and then he turned to Kyosuke. "What do you want, Fukada-san?" His smiled had disappeared.

"Ayasaki-kun, I suppose?" said Kyosuke, who was smiling. "Honestly, I don't think I have any business with you. Would you please leave? I am talking to Ka - Katsura." He intended to call her "Kazami", but he thought Hayate would not know whom he was referring to, so he forced himself to change to "Katsura".

"Excuse me, but if your intention is to upset Hinagiku-san, then it is my business!" said Hayate. He had no idea why he said that.

Kyosuke snorted. "I don't think it is the best time to do that."

"Do what?" demanded Hayate, frustrated at his ambiguity.

"I mean you shouldn't pretend to be her Prince Charming if you have never been before!"

"You - " Hayate was outraged and rushed towards Kyosuke.

"Hayate-kun, NO!" Hinagiku screamed and took Hayate by his hand.

"Hinagiku-san?" Hayate turned to her, and was shocked to see her sobbing. He could feel her hand in his, trembling and cold.

"Please, don't," whispered Hinagiku, lowering her head. "Don't be silly."

Kyosuke stared at the holding hands, and barked out a laughter. "You are weak, Kazami. You are so weak that you have to rely on a boy! A Kendo victory over me and a change in your surname hadn't changed anything in you, I see."

"Shut up!" shouted Hayate as he wanted to jump at Kyosuke again. Hinagiku squeezed his hand, signaling him not to do anything stupid.

"I guess I should leave you two alone today," said Kyosuke, who grinned. "But don't forget about our business, Kazami. You don't have much time." He paused as he turned away. "And maybe you would want to know more about your parents' misgivings. Perhaps I can take your hand and show you your parents again." With that, he left.

Hayate had no time for him. He turned to Hinagiku, who had not yet let go his hand. He held her hand a little firmer. "Hinagiku-san?" he whispered. "Are you alright?" He took out his handkerchief and took out her tears.

Hinagiku looked up at him. "Hayate-kun," she whispered. "Could we talk?"


	14. Chapter 14

**CHapter 14: We come before the Goddess for a problem in our hands**

Hinagiku led Hayate to sit on a nearby bench. She had stopped sobbing, but she kept her head down and her eyes closed, clearly thinking what and how she should say. Hayate had no idea what to say to her, so he quietly held Hinagiku's hand to show his support.

Hinagiku felt the warmth from Hayate's hand. It was much more comfortable than being held by Kyosuke. It helped her to calm down and focus, and finally, very slowly, she told him the whole story.

Hayate listened to her without making any comments, but by the end of her story, he was thoroughly shocked.

"I couldn't believe it," he said. "This is horrible!"

"Yes, it is," said Hinagiku as she sighed. "He didn't give me a choice, did he? I can only give him the sword to get my parents back, I guess."

"But…"

"I know, Hayate-kun," said Hinagiku, as she squeezed Hayate's hand with a little more force. "I know that they might use the power of Shirosakura to do bad things, so it would only be my last resort. If there is any other way I could save my parents, I definitely would take it."

"Do you have any idea, Hinagiku-san?" asked Hayate.

Hinagiku shook her head.

Hayate looked at her. He had never seen Hinagiku being so sad and helpless. To him, Hinagiku was always a tough, energetic and decisive girl. He had never thought that Hinagiku could be vulnerable as well, and he suddenly felt guilty about it.

"Well," began Hayate, trying desperately to think on his feet. He wanted to give her a suggestion – any suggestion. Then, he suddenly came up with one. "Why don't we go and ask A-tan? Maybe she could figure something out of your story!"

Hinagiku considered this for a moment, and then she smiled. "You are probably right, Hayate-kun. Thank you for your suggestion. I'd better go." With that, she stood up and let go her hand. She didn't want to bother Hayate any more with her own matters.

"I am going with you too," said Hayate firmly, as he stood up and grabbed Hinagiku's hand again. "No matter what you say, Hinagiku-san," he added.

Hinagiku felt the comfortable warmth from his hand again. She suddenly realized that she had only appreciated such a feeling on two occasions: once on her birthday and once in Athens. She wasn't sure why she had never liked it more.

"Thank you, Hayate-kun," she said with a smile. "Let's go."

"Yes, Hinagiku-san."

Hinagiku did not move, however. She looked at her hand which was held by Hayate, and suddenly she blushed. "Hayate-kun, my hand…"

Hayate was alarmed. "I am sorry, Hinagiku-san. I guess I should let go."

Hinagiku shook her head. "No, Hayate-kun," she whispered, and her face glowed even redder. "Please do not let go my hand."

Hayate blushed. He was pleasantly surprised at Hinagiku's words. He could feel that her hand had become much warmer than before, and he suddenly realized how good it felt holding her hand.

"Of course, Hinagiku-san," he said with a smile. "I am not letting go."

* * *

><p>"It – is – really – very – strange," said Athena, word by word, very slowly.<p>

Hayate and Hinagiku arrived at the Chairperson's Office and found Athena. Hinagiku had repeated her story to Athena, and she was confused by Athena's comment. "What do you mean, Athena?"

"I mean, it is really very strange that you two keep holding hands in front of me," said Athena, who was clearly making fun of the two. "Do you really think that I enjoy watching you two holding hands?"

Hayate and Hinagiku blushed. They had quite forgotten to let go of each other's hand since entering Athena's office. "Well, you are right," said Hinagiku, and she let go Hayate's hand. "Sorry," she added in a low voice.

Athena snorted. She had not expected the fun to go away so quickly, so she had no choice but to return to business. "Hinagiku, I think you need some bargaining power against Fukada. There is no way to get over him on this if you cannot make a bargain with him."

"I agree," said Hinagiku. "He is actually playing around with me like a toy. I just don't know what to do about this."

"Then let's figure it out together," said Athena with a smile.

"How?" asked Hinagiku, surprised.

"Call him," said Athena simply. "I suppose you have his cellphone number, right?"

"Right," said Hinagiku, who indeed had exchanged numbers with Kyosuke a few days ago.

"Turn on the speaker mode so that we can hear him," said Athena. "I will give you instructions on paper."

Hinagiku took a deep breath. "Okay."

Hinagiku dialed Kyosuke's cellphone number, and…

"'daisuki' nante arigato! (arigatou) watashi mo zutto 'suki' da yo (suki suki)"

"What kind of connection tone is that?" asked Hayate, bemused.

"More importantly, why do I hear myself singing?" asked Hinagiku. "I don't even remember singing that song."

"Quiet!" Athena hissed.

"Hello, Kazami!" said Kyosuke at the other end of the phone. "I guess, by making a call to me, you have already made up your mind?"

"Emm…" began Hinagiku, as she turned to look at a note Athena had just passed to her.

TELL HIM TO NAME A PRICE FOR THE RANSOM

"Look, Fukada-kun. What you want for my parents is money, right? Just tell me how much you want, and I will try to get it for you. The Katsuras are quite rich, you see."

Kyosuke began laughing. "Forget about it, Kazami. By getting the sword, I can get much more than what the Katsuras could possibly offer. I want the sword, not your money."

ASK HIM ABOUT THE BUYER

"So you have a buyer, Fukada-kun? What does he want with my sword? Why doesn't he buy it from me? Who is he, anyway?"

"You are asking me quite a few questions, Kazami, but of course I can't tell you anything, can I?"

"Fukada-kun, please. I have to know. I just can't give the sword to a terrorist!"

"Oh, that's your sense of responsibility, isn't it?" There was a moment of silent, as he probably had something to consider. "I can tell you this: My buyer is rich and powerful enough, he doesn't need to rely on terror attacks. In fact, as far as I know, he wants the sword for his personal business only, not for conquering the world. Are you satisfied with this?"

ASK HIM ABOUT THE ARRANGEMENTS

"So, what is the arrangement? Listen, I won't give you the sword until my parents are released!"

"Does it mean that you have agreed?"

"Tell – me," said Hinagiku, with a firmness she had never had when talking to Kyosuke. "You don't do business with people who care nothing about the details, right?"

Kyosuke laughed. "Indeed. Well, let's meet on the top of the Clock Tower of this school, 9 pm on the ninth of September. I bring along your parents and you bring along the sword. Nobody else on either side – except my buyer."

"Your buyer will come too?" asked Hinagiku, surprised.

"Yes. Is there a problem about that?"

SAY YOU WILL CONSIDER

"I will think about the arrangements," said Hinagiku. "I will call you back later."

"Fine, but make it quick. It is already the seventh."

"I know."

Hinagiku ended the call and turned to Athena. Nobody spoke for a moment.

"Well, that had explained a lot," Athena said finally.

"Yes, I think so," said Hinagiku with a nod.

"What are you two talking about?" asked Hayate, who failed to follow up.

Athena sighed. "Sanzen'in Mikado is the buyer."

"What?" asked Hayate.

"Yes. For some reason he preferred to work through Fukada to get Shirosakura. A few days ago they cooperated to try to take the sword from Hinagiku by force, but they had failed."

"They probably realized that it would take too much to rob Shirosakura from me, so they gave up on that. They might also know that I wouldn't sell the sword for any price, so they force me to make an exchange with them, make use of something… more important than money to me." Her voice became smaller and smaller as she finished her sentence.

"So, what would you do, Hinagiku-san?" asked Hayate. "Would you agree to the deal?"

Hinagiku considered for a moment, and then she sighed. "I don't really know. It would be much better if I could know what Director Sanzen'in wants to do with the sword. At the moment I don't see any severe consequence turning in the sword."

"Yes, there would be, Student Council President," said a voice behind them. Athena, Hayate and Hinagiku all turned to see Saginomiya Isumi.

"Saginomiya-san? Why are you here?" asked Hinagiku.

"Well, I don't think it is a good question at all," said Hayate.

Isumi did not answer Hinagiku's question. She stared very seriously at her.

"Student Council President, you cannot give Shirosakura to the bad people. If you give them the sword, you will die."


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15: The key to the path**

Everyone stared at Isumi as if she had just told a very horrible joke. However, she looked so determined and serious that, you would know she wasn't kidding.

Hinagiku turned to her. "What do you mean, I will die, Saginomiya-san?" she asked.

"Do you remember the mural we saw in the underground labyrinth in Mykonos, Student Council President?"

Hinagiku racked her brain. "Yes, I do. There are words on the mural as well."

Isumi nodded. "'At the forest of Abraxis' pillars, carry the sword of justice. If you do that, the path will open.' These are the words on the mural."

Hinagiku suddenly thought of something. "The sword of justice… could it be…?"

"Yes, it is the Shirosakura sword," said Isumi. "Now it seems that the bad people have found out where the forest of Abraxis' pillars is, so they want you to open the path for them."

"And where is this forest?" asked Hayate.

"The Student Council Room, on top of the Garden Gate – the Clock Tower," said Isumi. "We have only figured this out very recently."

"Where does this path lead to?" asked Hinagiku.

"The Royal Garden!" exclaimed Athena, her voice slightly shaking. "Of course, the Garden Gate leads to the Royal Garden!"

"What?" asked Hayate, who was shocked by the revelation of Athena. "The Royal Garden? Are you sure about it, A-tan?"

"No, I am not," admitted Athena. "But what else would Sanzen'in Mikado be so interested in?"

"Emm… excuse me," began Hinagiku. "What is this Royal Garden about?"

"The Royal Garden…" began Hayate, but he did not know if he should tell Hinagiku anything about it. He turned to Athena, who nodded. "… was the place I lived with A-tan when we were small."

"Ah, you told me about living with Athena," said Hinagiku. She could never forget the conversation they had in Athens, when she wanted to confess to him, but instead he confessed to her… about his love to Athena. She felt her heart ached. "So you two lived together in the Royal Garden?" She asked, ignoring her pain.

"Yes, we did," admitted Athena, who was surprised that Hayate had told so much to Hinagiku. Could this guy not hide anything from this girl? "There used to be a certain Power of Royalty in the Garden. Many people want this Power of Royalty, including Sanzen'in Mikado and myself."

"So this is why Director Sanzen'in wants to go to this Garden?" asked Hinagiku, trying to keep up. "He wants to get the Power from the Garden?"

"I think so," said Athena. "Unfortunately, the Power has already been stolen, so I think he would find nothing. Nevertheless, I can understand why he still wants a try."

"So why does it concern me?" asked Hinagiku. "Why would I die if I give the sword to him?"

"If you agree to give him the sword, he will then force you to open the path for him," said Isumi reasonably. "And there is a consequence to suffer if you open the path."

"And the consequence is… my death?"

Isumi considered for a moment. "Well, the exact wordings on the mural are: 'At the forest of Abraxis' pillars, carry the sword of justice. If you do that, the path will open, but gone is your current life as a sacrifice.' I don't know it means death, but I am quite sure that, if you open the path, you will never return to us, Student Council President."

There was a long moment of silence. Everyone look at Hinagiku, who had gone quite pale. The fact that Hinagiku, a young girl at 16 years old, could die in a few days was very hard to accept.

"So," said Hinagiku finally, as she forced herself to put up a very weak smile. "It's still okay, isn't it? I mean, if by giving my life, I can save my parents, it's still worth it, right?"

"No, it is not, Hinagiku-san!" said Hayate very loudly, as he grabbed Hinagiku by her shoulders. "How could you say things like that? How could you choose to give up your life so easily?"

"It – it is not easy!" said Hinagiku, equally loudly. "But I want to save my parents, Hayate-kun! They are more important than my own life! If what it takes to save them is my life, so be it! What is wrong with that?"

"You are wrong because you are thinking of abandoning us!" shouted Hayate. "Do you have any idea how heartbroken would your parents be?"

"I am not abandoning them!" said Hinagiku, who was shocked by his accusation, but she was not backing off.

"What about your foster parents?"

"I say, I am not – "

"Katsura-sensei?"

"Hayate-kun, I – "

"The Student Council members?"

"I – "

"Milady?"

"Don't – "

"And… me?"

"Don't make me feel so guilty, Hayate-kun!" shouted Hinagiku, as tears quickly filled her eyes again. "I know, I know! I don't want to leave you all, but I have no choice!" She could control herself no more, and she cried again. "What do I do, Hayate-kun? What do I do?"

"There must be a way! There must be a way!" said Hayate, who felt that his eyes had become watery. "Let's figure it out together, Hinagiku-san!" He took Hinagiku by both her hands, and looked straight into her eyes. "In exchange, please don't say stupid things like giving your life away, okay?"

"Hayate-kun…" began Hinagiku, but she did not have the composure to finish whatever she wanted to say. Instead, she collapsed completely and began crying very hard in Hayate's shoulder. "I am sorry, Hayate-kun! I am so sorry!"

Athena and Isumi watched them as if watching a soap opera.

"I never thought that the Student Council President could be this frail," said Isumi.

"Everybody has their weak spot," said Athena wisely. "It just happens that the weak spot for Hinagiku is her love for the others. In fact, this is what Sanzen'in Mikado is aiming at."

"Should we help her to get rid of her weak spot?"

Athena considered her words for a moment. "No, we shouldn't," she said. "It is because such a weak spot is also the source of her powers, and we need her powers... especially if - I mean, if - Sanzen'in Mikado managed to find the Power of Royalty in the Royal Garden."

* * *

><p>Hinagiku returned home quietly. Athena had suggested her to take her time before giving Kyosuke her reply ("Do not forget that he is probably more desperate to get this done than you, Hinagiku."), and had discharged all of her Student Council duties for the day. Although Hinagiku complained that Athena was looking down on her, she was actually quite grateful of it. She just couldn't concentrate on her work at the moment.<p>

Usually, upon returning home, Hinagiku would stay in her own room for homework and studies, but today she laughed at this idea - Athena did not send her home for studies. Instead, she stayed in the living room, doing housework with Mrs. Katsura.

"What's the matter today, Hina-chan?" asked Mrs. Katsura while doing the dish with Hinagiku. "It is not your housework time yet."

"Well, isn't it good, mom?" said Hinagiku, who had no intention yet to tell what had happened this day - or these few days. "I mean, I always lock myself up in the room, so we spend too little time together." She sighed. "Sometimes I think I do not act like a Katsura."

Mrs. Katsura laughed. "Is it the old 'I am not Katsura! I am Kazami!' argument?"

"Well, it's not like that, mom," said Hinagiku, laughing weakly. "I accept that you are my mother... from the bottom of my heart," she said the last few words in a whisper.

"Then, what is it?" asked Mrs. Katsura, pursuing the subject.

"It's more like... responsibility," said Hinagiku. "I took up the responsibility as a Katsura when I took up the surname, but at the same time I am not discharged of the responsibility of a Kazami, mom." She turned to look at Mrs. Katsura. "I don't know what I should do if my responsibilities are in a conflict, mom."

"Well, Hina-chan, it is not an easy question," said Mrs. Katsura. "However, family responsibility is not something assigned to you to take on your own. If we are family, we share the responsibility. If the burden is too heavy on your shoulders, we can share it with you."

"But…" began Hinagiku, who began to think it might be better to state her concerns more clearly. "What if I have to devote my life to help my parents? What if I cannot be a Katsura anymore? What if I cannot see you anymore?" she said the last few words in a very small voice.

Mrs. Katsura placed a hand on Hinagiku's head, patting her. "Hina-chan, family is not something you would lose simply because you don't see them. We might depart someday, either because you are married to your husband, or because we pass away."

"Mom!" said Hinagiku, quite scared that her mother used the words "pass away".

"We came together on one day, and we surely will leave each other on another day. There is nothing we can do about it. However, as long as you love us, and vice versa, we will always be family."

"Really?"

Mrs. Katsura took Hinagiku's hands. "Yes, Hina-chan. You have suffered a lot because your parents left you, so this is something you might not understand: Departure doesn't always mean abandonment. The most important thing is to make sure if there is love between you and your family."

"Mom," Hinagiku was touched. She didn't want to cry for the third time on the same day, but she had been so vulnerable these days she couldn't control herself. Tears began running down her cheeks, and she began sobbing.

Mrs. Katsura hugged Hinagiku. "As for me, I am very sure that I love you, so if you love me too, I will always be your mother. No matter you are Kazami or Katsura, no matter you are with me or not, you are still my Hina-chan." She looked at Hinagiku, and Hinagiku could see that there were tears in her mother's eyes as well. "So, the question is: Do you love me, Hina-chan?"

Hinagiku looked at Mrs. Katsura. She had only confessed her love to her own parents who had abandoned, so she was so afraid of confessing her love to anyone in person. When facing Mrs. Katsura's question, however, Hinagiku found that she could not hide or lie. She could only give her very honest answer.

"Yes, I do. I love you, mom."


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16: Her decision**

Hinagiku lied on her bed at night, thinking of what to do with her parents – and herself.

**"In exchange, please don't say stupid things like giving your life away, okay?"**

Hayate-kun made me promise not to sacrifice myself easily, but this really makes things much more complicated than they have to be.

"**If you open the path, you will never return to us, Student Council President."**

To put it simply, I cannot open the path, then.

**"If you agree to give him the sword, he will then force you to open the path for him."**

I can't give them the sword either. So why should I be there, anyway?

"**I bring along your parents and you bring along the sword. Nobody else on either side – except my buyer."**

So we will be quite alone, then. My parents, Fukada-kun and his buyer, and myself… Hey!

Hinagiku sat up as an idea came to her mind. This idea was so simple and straightforward that Hinagiku could not believe why she hadn't thought about it earlier.

It is very simple, really. If I can defeat Fukada-kun and his buyer, I can save my parents without giving up my life! No, wait a second…

She had to think twice before deciding on this idea. This was a very critical decision which allowed no mistakes.

Can I defeat Fukada-kun? What if I cannot defeat him?

**"Sanzen'in Mikado is the buyer."**

So Fukada-kun has to listen to his buyer, after all.

"**Many people want this Power of Royalty, including Sanzen'in Mikado and myself."**

What Director Sanzen'in wants is the Power, and he needs me to open the path, so the worst case for me would be to open that path. Well, if I don't put up a fight, I will have to do it anyway, so I lose nothing by fighting them.

"**As far as I know, he wants the sword for his personal business only, not for conquering the world."**

This is the only part I am not sure about. Seriously, who knows if he wouldn't use the Power to conquer the world?

"**If you give them the sword, you will die."**

So in any case I have a fight I can't afford to lose.

She thought about the whole thing for a second time, and finally she had come to a decision. "Okay!" she shouted as she jumped off her bed. "Do it, Hinagiku!"

And she picked up her phone to call Kyosuke.

* * *

><p>The eighth of September was a much better school day for Hinagiku. Having made up her mind on such an important issue, she suddenly found that she had nothing to worry about anymore. The only thing she needed now was the determination to overcome Kyosuke and Mikado, and determination was something she never lacked.<p>

She was in such an improved mood that she was actually humming a song as she packed her schoolbag after school. What she had not realized was that a new trouble was coming for her.

"Listen up, Hina-chan!" said Izumi joyfully to her. "We are having a party at Nagi-chan's home tomorrow night!"

"A party?" asked Hinagiku, who appeared to have no idea as to why Izumi suggested a party all of a sudden. "What for?" she asked.

"Oh, come on, Hina-chan," said Izumi as if Hinagiku had forgotten something very important. "It is a birthday party for Miki-chan! It's her birthday tomorrow!"

"Oh, my God!" exclaimed Hinagiku as she stood up. Indeed, how could she forget about something so important? Of course, she had come across so many things in these few days, but still...

"Are you alright, Hina-chan?" asked Izumi, who began to worry as Hinagiku had not spoken a word since standing up.

"Yes, I am fine," said Hinagiku, trying to recover. "So... a party, right? When would that be?"

"We start at 7 pm, and we are planning to stay overnight as the next day is Saturday!" said Izumi, who sounded joyful again as she was talking about the party.

"I see, it sounds fun, doesn't it?" said Hinagiku with a smile. She did not really disapprove of staying late, but it was just that she preferred going to bed early. However, her smile suddenly vanished as she remembered something. "Oh, no!" she exclaimed. She had just remembered that she had an appointment with Kyosuke on that day - that night, exactly.

"Is there a problem, Hina-chan?" asked Izumi.

"No, I'll come," said Hinagiku automatically, as she did not want to turn down her best friend's birthday party. _"It's fine. I just have to show up for a while, and then I can leave. Miki will be bad at me for sure, but I will try to make it up later,"_ she thought to herself.

"That would be great!" squealed Izumi. "Miki-chan wants you to sing a song in the party, and she has made sure I tell you about it!"

"A... song?" asked Hinagiku, thoroughly shocked. In that case she could not leave the party early. "That would be..."

"Come on, Hina-chan, please..."

Hinagiku couldn't bear to look at Izumi's eyes. "A - alright!" she said finally. "I'll do it."

"Hooray!" cheered Izumi as she ran away. Hinagiku watched her go and shook her head.

"This is very, very bad..." she said to herself.

* * *

><p>"Hello, this is Suirenzi Ruka's assistant. What can I help you?"<p>

"Excuse me. Can I speak to Ruka in person, please?"

"Are you a fan? Honestly, we can't allow every fan to speak to her on phone in person."

"Just tell her it is Hina who wants to speak to her, please."

A few seconds later. "Hello, Hina! How are you?"

"I am fine, thanks. Listen, Ruka. I need your help..."

* * *

><p>It was after school on 9th September. The preparation for the party had started. Izumi and Risa went to help with Maria at Nagi's home. Hinagiku was absent from school today, but nobody knew why. Hayate went to invite Athena to come as well, but Athena turned down the offer.<p>

"Why, A-tan?" asked Hayate, very disappointed. "It would be fun!"

"You just have to excuse me for this, Hayate," said Athena, her eyes on some school documents. "I can't stop myself thinking that fooling around with those three girls look too stupid for me."

"Well, that would be a bit..."

"Besides," said Athena, interrupting Hayate. "I have already accepted a quest tonight, so I can't come in any case."

"A quest?"

"Yes, a quest," said Athena. "From Hinagiku," she added.

"From Hinagiku-san?" asked Hayate, alarmed. "What quest is it?"

Athena considered him for a moment. "You forget what you hear when you go out of this room, understand?"

"O - okay."

Athena stared at his eyes. "So what if you see Hinagiku?"

"What? I guess I might ask her about it..."

"YOU FORGET WHAT YOU HEAR WHEN YOU GO OUT OF THIS ROOM! UNDERSTAND?"

"O - Okay!"

"Man, you are killing me, Hayate..." said Athena, who found Hayate's stupidity (in front of Hinagiku) incredible.

"I am sorry about it," said Hayate, although he did not look like very sorry. "So, what is the quest, A-tan?"

Athena sighed as she tried to compose herself. "Well, remember where Hinagiku's parents are imprisoned?"

Hayate nodded. "Deep Field Weaponry," he said.

"Good. Now, her parents are not the only people who are there, and no matter why the Fukadas are trapping them, it certainly is illegal," she paused to give Hayate time to keep up.

"So?" said Hayate, indicated that he was keeping up.

"So she wants me to find enough evidence, so that we can turn them to the police," said Athena. "It means that I will have to infiltrate into that building, go to the basement, defeat all guards present, and find the prisoners." She shook her head as she can't stop thinking that it was madness. "If the situation allows, Hinagiku wants me to save them as well."

"Them… you mean the other prisoners?" asked Hayate. "What about Hinagiku-san's parents?"

"I am going to save them myself," said a voice behind Hayate. He turned around and saw Hinagiku. She was smiling at them, her eyes full of determination. Hayate wasn't sure how, but he knew that the Hinagiku he had always known had returned.

"Hinagiku-san?" he said, quite unable to hide his delight behind seeing her. "Where have you been today?"

"For this," she handed him a small package. "Make sure you handle this when Miki wants me to sing."

"Why?" asked Hayate. "You are coming to the party, right?"

"Yes, I am," said Hinagiku. "But I am leaving early. I have to meet up with Fukada-kun and my parents."

"What?" asked Hayate. He thought that Hinagiku was going to sacrifice her life after all. "But you promised me not to give up your life for this, Hinagiku-san!"

"I know, Hayate-kun," said Hinagiku, who was still smiling. "But I am not opening that path or whatsoever." She thought for a moment. "If I could help, I mean," she added.

"What do you mean, Hinagiku-san?"

"I have figured it all out. It seems that the best solution for me is to save my parents from them. I will defeat Fukada-kun, get to my parents, and escape."

"This is risky, Hinagiku-san!"

"Yes, but if everything goes right for me, I can get the best results," said Hinagiku. "And you know that I never get bad results."

"But..." began Hayate, who still did not want Hinagiku to go.

"Stop it, Hayate," said Athena. "I think she probably has made up her mind already. There is no way you can stop her now."

"Thanks to you, Athena," said Hinagiku with a smile. "You gave me time to think about everything, so my mind has become clear." She turned to Hayate. "You too, Hayate-kun. You have been the most supportive these days, I - emm..." she blushed and found herself unable to finish her sentence. This was something she still had not enough determination.

"You are very welcome, Hinagiku-san," said Hayate, coming to her assistance.

"Right," said Hinagiku, recovering from her embarrassment. "So, I am leaving the party to you, Hayate-kun." She turned to Athena. "And the other prisoners to you, Athena."

"You owe me one, Hinagiku," said Athena, grinning.

Hinagiku shrugged. "I guess you wouldn't mind, would you?"

Both girls laughed. Hayate was glad that Hinagiku was laughing again, but he was still worried about her. After all, if she failed her mission tonight, he would never see her again. He felt his heart ached, but he wasn't sure why.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17: A promise under the stars**

"Happy Birthday, Miki!"

At 7 pm on 9th September, the party began to celebrate Miki's 17th birthday. Only a few people were invited to the party, including Hinagiku, Risa, Izumi, Ayumu, Chiharu, Kayura, Yukiji and Wataru. Aika was also invited, but she turned it down. Hayate, Maria and Nagi were the hosts of this party, and they of course were attendants.

"May I ask why I am invited?" asked Wataru, as he was serving himself with some fruit punch. "I have never been close to you girls, and I don't see other Hakuou students here."

"It is because you were the President of our club, Wataru-kun!" said Risa.

"That is right, Wataru-kun!" said Miki, the birthday girl. "You have no idea how hard life has been without you."

"That isn't very reassuring, as I have never seen you treating me like a very important person at the club," said Wataru. "Oh, by the way, happy birthday," he said it to Miki very casually.

"You are very kind, Wataru-kun," said Miki, beaming. "Have anyone of you seen Hina? She hasn't come to school today, and I haven't seen her tonight either. I wonder where she is..." She began looking around.

"Not to worry, Miki-chan. She said she would come, so she would come," said Izumi, and she began looking around as well. "Oh, look! There she is!"

Everybody turned and they saw Hinagiku coming. "Hi, everyone!" she said cheerfully. "Happy birthday, Miki!" she said to Miki with a bright smile. Miki blushed. "Thank... thank you," she said, turning away.

Izumi stared at Hinagiku. "Hina-chan, your outfit is so cool!"

Everybody turned to look at Hinagiku. She was wearing black sailor suit with red linings, black skirt and black leggings. Only her trademark Converse shoes were pink. Hinagiku had chosen this outfit, so that she could walk around the school campus at night without being noticed – or she thought.

"Oh, thank you," said Hinagiku, giggling.

"Well, it looks like if you are sneaking into some places in the dark, Hina," said Miki.

Hinagiku was alarmed. "Does… does it?"

Miki stared at Hinagiku for some time. "No, I was just kidding. You look great, Hina."

"Th – thanks," said Hinagiku, who was glad that she seemed to have passed Miki's inspection. It was never an easy task.

Elsewhere, Ayumu and Yukiji were deep in conversation. It was the first time they met since their reunion in Cafe Donguri, and Ayumu took this opportunity for a better reunion talk.

"It has been quite some years since I had tutorial lessons with you, Kazami-sensei," said Ayumu cheerfully. "Or should I call you Katsura-sensei now?"

"Yukiji will do," said Yukiji as she took some beer. She was the only one in the party who was having alcohol. "I am not your teacher anymore, Ayumu, but we can be friends, so let's call each other like friends."

"Yes, Yukiji-sensei!" said Ayumu, even more cheerfully.

Yukiji choked very hard on her beer.

Hayate and Maria were busy preparing dinner. Maria had not hosted a party ever since Golden Week, so she was very excited.

"Listen up, Hayate-kun!" she said as she rolled up her sleeves. "Even though they are our friends and your classmates, they are our guests today! You should serve them with all your might!"

"Yes, Maria-san!"

Thanks to Maria's skills and passion, the dinner was extremely well done. Everyone enjoyed the meal so much that they almost had forgotten that there was yet a huge birthday cake to come. In the end, Miki decided that she would only blow the candles for now, and everyone could have the cake after games and the ball.

"Games" were inevitably video games. Nagi had connected her Wii to a 100-inch HD Television, and started Mario Kart on it. This attracted the interests of Chiharu, Wataru and Kayura, so they began their race right away. To Nagi's satisfaction, she was clearly the best racer out of the four; to her dissatisfaction, nobody was watching her achievement, as the others went to the ball.

The "ball" was a small dancing party in the Great Hall of the Sanzen'in Mansion. Klaus and several maids (including Maria) were serving drinks (juice, for Hinagiku would not allow underage students to drink even cocktails or Champaign; Yukiji was not happy about it), while everyone was dancing. Miki, the birthday girl, led the dance, and her partner was of course Hinagiku (both of them blushed fiercely, but for different reasons). Hayate joined the dance with Ayumu, but as he was the only male in the ball, he was forced to change partner every 30 seconds, and in the end he was almost torn into halves by Risa and Yukiji.

Hinagiku kept checking the time throughout the party. She had a habit to be 10 minutes early for any meeting, and this time she had an appointment which she could not afford to be late. At 20:30 Hinagiku thought it was almost time to go, so she told Miki that she needed to take a break, and she left for the balcony.

Hayate saw Hinagiku leaving, and he decided to go after her. He thought that he had to tell her something, or at least to have a chat with her, before she left. He had a horrible feeling that, if he missed this chance, he would never be able to talk to her again.

The sudden departure of Hinagiku and Hayate attracted the attention of the others.

"Where are they going?" asked Izumi.

"Who knows?" said Miki with a sigh._ "It is my birthday! Why can't you spend more time with me today, Hina?"_ she thought to herself. "They probably have their own business, I guess," she said.

"Their own business?" repeated Izumi, confused.

"Well, forget about them," said Miki. "Let's dance, Izumi!"

As she reached the balcony, Hinagiku took a deep breath. Although it was late summer, it was comfortably cool this night. Insects were singing in the grass, and the stars were shining bright above the sky. It was a clear night.

"_I only wish it could be a bit darker,"_ Hinagiku thought to herself. _"On such a bright night, I could easily be discovered in the campus, and in that case I cannot give Fukada-kun a surprise attack."_

"Hinagiku-san!" she heard Hayate's voice behind her, and she looked around.

"Hayate-kun?" said Hinagiku, surprised. "Why are you here?"

"Well…" began Hayate, but he found it difficult to explain himself. "I fancy a talk with you," he said finally.

Hinagiku blinked. "With me? Why?"

"Emm…" Hayate thought hard for an excuse, but he could not find one. "Well, you are going to save your parents, right? I guess I have to talk to you before you go, otherwise…"

"You think I might not come back?" Hinagiku finished the sentence for him, but she was smiling.

"Well…" Hayate knew that his honest answer was "yes", but he was worried that Hinagiku might think he was looking down on her, so he did not want to give it.

"Hmm?" Hinagiku leaned forward, gazing at him.

"Well, yes," Hayate couldn't stop the words coming out of his mouth, and he felt his face had become very hot. "That was what I thought."

Hinagiku stood straight and turned away, her pink hair dancing behind her. Hayate gaped at the beauty of her movement.

"How did you feel when you went to save Athena, Hayate-kun?" asked Hinagiku, with her back on Hayate. "Were you afraid that you might be killed?"

"No, not really," Hayate replied, surprised that Hinagiku asked him about it. "I promised milady that I would come back to her after saving A-tan, and I meant it. I did not think that I would be killed, so I wasn't really afraid." He paused. "Not until King Midas pierced through my body," he added.

Hinagiku lowered her head. "I am not really afraid, either," she said. "I have to save my parents, and I cannot fail. If I won't fail, I will survive." She turned and smiled at Hayate. "This is illogical, but strangely it gives me courage to face my responsibility."

"Your responsibility?" asked Hayate.

"My responsibility as a Kazami," said Hinagiku. "We might not have been family for 10 years, but they are my parents. As their daughter, I have the responsibility to help them."

She turned to the balcony. "Well, I am not fulfilling my responsibilities if I die and cannot return to the Katsuras, am I? Of course, mom has told me that if we love each other, then we will always be together even if one of us is… gone, but I still prefer to live with them and to take care of them." She smiled again at Hayate. "This is my code of responsibility."

"I see," said Hayate, who had no idea what else to say.

"I have the responsibility to the Kazamis and to the Katsuras," said Hinagiku, "and sometimes I can't stop myself asking: Am I Kazami Hinagiku? Or am I Katsura Hinagiku?" She shook her head. "I know this is a stupid question, but sometimes… I just want to know." She leaned forward again, and looked into Hayate's eyes. "What do you think, Hayate-kun?"

Hayate thought hard. It was not an easy question to answer. "Please wait for a moment, Hinagiku-san," he said finally. "Let me get you something."

A few minutes later, he returned with two cups of coffee on a tray. "Please try one, Hinagiku-san," he said as he offered Hinagiku the tray.

Hinagiku looked at the steaming coffee. The smell and the colour of the coffee were so familiar to her. She took a cup and had a sip. It was a bitterness she was so familiar with, followed by a sweetness she was so familiar with. "The Wind Sees Daisy!" she exclaimed, and she looked at Hayate. "You know how to brew it?"

Hayate shook his head. "No, Hinagiku-san. This is not The Wind Sees Daisy. It is Osmanthus Daisy."

Hinagiku was confused. "What are you talking about, Hayate-kun? This must be The Wind Sees Daisy. This…"

"I call this coffee Osmanthus Daisy, Hinagiku-san," Hayate interrupted her with a smile. "You see, Hinagiku-san. A name is only a name. The content of the coffee remains the same, no matter it is called The Wind Sees Daisy or Osmanthus Daisy."

"So?" asked Hinagiku, but she had a vague idea of what Hayate wanted to say.

"Kazami or Katsura, you are still Hinagiku-san," said Hayate, as he moved a bit closer to Hinagiku. "The Hinagiku-san who is athletic and smart. The Hinagiku-san who is energetic and caring. The Hinagiku-san who is strong and delicate. The Hinagiku-san who is quick-tempered and lovely. The Hinagiku-san who makes me happy and scared. The Hinagiku-san who I owe so much… but I like so much. So, just be yourself, Hinagiku-san!"

"Ha – Hayate-kun?" said Hinagiku as she blushed very fiercely. She thought she had just heard his confession, and this time she was not mistaken. _"He confessed to me! He confessed to me!"_ she could hear her heart screaming crazily. Tears filled her eyes quickly, but this time these were tears of joy.

Hayate moved forward and hugged Hinagiku. "Please make sure you come back, Hinagiku-san," he whispered and kissed Hinagiku on her forehead. "I – we – will be waiting for you."

Hinagiku buried a smile in his shoulder. She used to struggle against body contact with Hayate, but his embrace and kiss were so comfortable tonight that she didn't even think of pushing him away._ "Well, it is not a bad thing to be held by him, right?"_ she thought to herself.

"Thank you, Hayate-kun," she said. "I will come back. I promise."


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18: Mysterious as the dark side of the moon**

"Hey, Hinagiku, it's me."

"What is it, Athena?"

"I just saw that Fukada guy escorting a man and a woman, both very skinny, into a car. I suppose they are your parents?"

"I think so. So they are on their way to Hakuou to meet me."

"Are you sure you can handle this on your own?"

"I have to. Fukada-kun wants me to meet them alone."

"But he is not alone."

"What do you mean?"

Athena had been hiding in a lane that led to Deep Field Weaponry, observing every move of the people walking in and out of the building. She saw something which could be considered "reasonable" for bad guys and gangsters, but "ridiculous" for someone like Hinagiku.

"They are with two men – guards, I think," said Athena. "With guns."

"Guns?" asked Hinagiku, obviously surprised. "What do you mean, guns?"

"Guns as weapons, Hinagiku," said Athena patiently. "Firearms. One shot in your head and you are dead."

There was a long pause.

"How could he do that?" asked Hinagiku, very furiously. "That's… ridiculous!"

"Hinagiku," said Athena, even more patiently. "You are a very kind person, and you are still very young, so you might not know that some people love playing dirty tricks. That Fukada guy might be one of those wicked people, so don't take him lightly."

There was another long pause.

"Hinagiku?" asked Athena, as she almost thought that the line had gone dead.

"Yes, I am still here," said Hinagiku. "Do you have any suggestion for me?"

"First, don't do anything in the school campus. Just go straight to the Student Council Room. That would be safer - for your parents as well as yourself."

"Great," said Hinagiku bitterly. Her first idea of a surprise had gone to waste. "What else?"

"Don't take the elevator to the Student Council Room."

"You are kidding," said Hinagiku, half-laughing.

"No, I am not."

"Really, Athena, do you expect them to point their guns – " Hinagiku broke off as she suddenly realized something. "Okay, fine. That might happen."

"It will happen."

"So how am I supposed to go to the Student Council Room? By the stairs?"

Athena smiled. "There is another way."

There was another long pause.

"I would rather die than using that way."

"If you don't use that way, you are dead, Hinagiku."

Hinagiku sighed. "Okay, I got it. Thanks."

"Be careful, Hinagiku, and good luck."

"You too, Athena."

Athena ended the call and turned her focus to her own quest. It was a much easier and more comfortable task than Hinagiku's. After all, she did not have to face either Kyosuke or Mikado. With the masterminds of the plan against Hinagiku out of the way, Athena could easily take control of the building.

She had decided not to infiltrate the building through the windows. Instead, she chose to walk into the building through the front door. As she was an intruder in any case, she thought that it was best to minimize the trouble for getting inside the building.

As expected, two security guards approached her immediately. "Excuse me, miss, this is a restricted building," said one of them. "Please leave immediately, or..." His sentence was cut off as he received a hit in the neck by someone on his back. The other guard turned to see a black male in butler suit, but he was also knocked unconscious before he could have a better look.

The receptionists and several other staff members - all young women - screamed. The man in butler suit moved very quickly around the floor, knocking every one of them out before any of them could move to inform guards or the police. The man then turned to Athena, and bowed to her.  
>"Well done, Machina," said Athena simply. "Nice moves."<p>

"Thank you very much for your compliments, Athena," said Machina with another bow. "What should we do now?"

"Secure the basement floor. You take the stairs, Machina. I will take the elevator."

"Yes, Athena!"

* * *

><p>Hinagiku did not enter Hakuou Academy through the main gate. As Mikado was one of the five Directors of Hakuou, he had more authority at the school than her. The guards at the entrance could be Mikado's men, so not only they would authorize Kyosuke's entry, but they could actually make troubles for Hinagiku when she entered. She wanted nothing to do with anyone other than Kyosuke or Mikado.<p>

Hinagiku jumped over the walls and landed in the school campus. She hid herself in the bushes until she was sure that nobody had noticed her. She shook her head as she began pacing towards the Clock Tower. These school guards were highly incompetent.

Hinagiku moved very quickly around the campus. She was so familiar with the campus that she could find the shortest way to the Clock Tower even in complete darkness. She checked her watch again: 20:48, so she was 12 minutes early. Hinagiku smiled: She had always insisted to be 10 minutes early for meetings. She was not sure if Kyosuke or Director Sanzen'in knew anything about it.

Athena had told her not to use the elevator, but she still activated it. She would make use of it.

* * *

><p>Kyosuke had already arrived at Hakuou. He met Mikado at the Clock Tower, and they entered the Student Council Room together. Mikado, of course, had the key.<p>

Mikado took the seat of the Student Council President and remained silent. Kyosuke placed Hinagiku's parents at the corner of the room, and he guarded them himself. He also ordered his two guards to guard the elevator, and to point their guns at Hinagiku as soon as she arrived. He had expected that Hinagiku might try to put up a struggle, and he thought this would stop her.

At 20:52, the guards noticed that the elevator was activated. "Sir," said one of the guards to Kyosuke. "I think she is coming."

"She is early," commented Kyosuke. "She wants to surprise us by coming early, I guess. However, we are ahead of her, so there is nothing to worry about. Get your guns ready, you know what to do."

"Yes, sir!"

The guards waited as the elevator ascended. It finally reached the top floor, giving out a "ding" sound to signal its arrival. The two men pointed their guns at the door at once, expecting a horrified Hinagiku to hold up her hands to surrender. "Do not blame us, young lady," whispered one of the guards. "It is not our intention to hurt you."

The door opened, but to Kyosuke and his men's surprise, Hinagiku was not in the elevator. It was empty.

"Where is she?" demanded Kyosuke, who was completely confused.

Mikado said nothing. He simply grinned.

* * *

><p>"Shirosakura!" cried Hinagiku as she summoned the legendary sword, and it came into her hand immediately. Hinagiku pointed the sword to the sky, and it took her off the ground at once. She travelled with the sword at such high speed that she didn't really have time to be scared about the height.<p>

In three seconds Hinagiku arrived at the balcony of the Clock Tower. She did a forward somersault and landed on the balcony. Without wasting any time, Hinagiku called back Shirosakura, summoned Masamune and dashed towards the two guards. The two men heard her coming, so they turned around, but they were too late. With two strikes of the wooden sword, Hinagiku smashed their two guns into pieces. With another two strikes, both men were knocked unconscious and they fell to the ground.

"Kazami!" exclaimed Kyosuke. He had not expected Hinagiku to turn up in this fashion, and he was trying desperately to think of what to do in such a situation, now that his initial plan with Hinagiku had failed completely.

Hinagiku pointed the Wooden Masamune at Kyosuke. "Release my parents, Fukada-kun!" she demanded. "You are doing something horribly wrong, and you know it! Stop it right now!" She turned to Mikado. "You too, Director Sanzen'in!"

Kyosuke stared at the wooden sword for a while, then he laughed. "Wrong? I don't know if you have got the right idea of what is wrong, Kazami!"

"I have no time for philosophical debates," said Hinagiku coldly. "I only know that you have no right to imprison my parents. Illegal entrapment is a criminal offence, Fukada-kun, so you are doing something horribly wrong!"

"Very funny," said Kyosuke with a smile, as if he suddenly had found a way to gain the upper-hand over Hinagiku. "Then perhaps you should also judge on what your parents had done."

"What do you mean?" asked Hinagiku.

Kyosuke pointed at Hinagiku's parents. "We do not keep them with us for no reason. Ten years ago these two pieces of rubbish had stolen money from our company, so they had to stay with us to clear their debts!"

"What?" asked Hinagiku. "How much?" To her, the amount of money involved in a theft or robbery was irrelevant - a wrong-doing remained a wrong-doing no matter how minor it was. This time, however, she wanted to know how much her parents had stolen. She did not know why - she just wanted to know.

"Seventy-nine million yen!" said Kyosuke word by word, in order to emphasize the seriousness of the offence. "We interrogated them over and over again, but they never really told us why they had stolen our money. The only thing they had told us was that it was to help someone important to them. A likely story."

He expected his words to have some effects on Hinagiku, but to his surprised delight he found that his words had huge effects on her. He could see that Hinagiku looked very unsettled, but he wasn't sure what really hit hard on her.

In fact, Hinagiku was thinking about the money. Normally, she wouldn't have believed Kyosuke's accusation so easily. However, the timing and the amount involved coincided with the debt their parents had left to her and Yukiji.

She had, for more than once, questioned how Yukiji could have repaid all the debt in one year on her own. Yukiji had always answered her that she had done a lot of work, so she had earned enough money to repay the debt. When she was a child, Hinagiku did not really question Yukiji's words, and after she had grown up she did not want to pick up this old and sad issue any more.

Now that Kyosuke told her that her parents had stolen an amount which could repay the vast majority of the debt, an idea came into her mind: _"Did they steal the money in order to help me and Onee-chan?"_


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19: Katsura Hinagiku**

Athena arrived at the basement of Deep Field Weaponry. She was surprised to find that the basement was not really secured. There were only two guards, both were knocked out by Machina before Athena's elevator arrived. Athena walked out of the elevator, almost unable to believe that everything went so easily for her.

"I don't understand, Athena," said Machina, who also seemed to have noticed something. "If there are secrets down in this place, why is it not properly guarded?"

"Well, there are quite a few possibilities," responded Athena, as she began looking around the hall for the jail area. "For one, it could be that they are very confident that we wouldn't find anything here even if we enter."

Her first assumption seemed to be proven wrong as she located the lock device fairly quickly. "Here, Machina. Hack into this, and open the chamber."

"Yes, Athena," said Machina as he approached the device. "And the other reason?"

"They could have moved all the remaining prisoners out of this place already," said Athena. "If we can't find anything here, then we cannot accuse them of illegal imprisonment. In fact, it would be them who could turn us to the police."

"On what charge?" asked Machina as he began examining the lock.

"Burglary," said Athena simply. "So make it quick, Machina. How long do you need?"

"It is a bit complicated here," said Machina. "I need 30 minutes."

"Make it fifteen," said Athena. "I am counting on you, Machina."

"Leave it to me," said Machina.

* * *

><p>Hinagiku remained speechless to Kyosuke's accusation that her parents had stolen money from his family. Kyosuke thought that she felt guilty about what her parents had done, so she was suddenly unable to criticize him for holding her parents as hostages. Kyosuke grinned: He always had the upper hand in psychological battles against Hinagiku, and today was no different - or so he thought.<p>

In fact, Hinagiku had no time feeling guilty or ashamed, as she was having another battle in her mind.

_My parents were trying to help us!_

But they abandoned me and Onee-chan.

_They had no choice. It was too dangerous!_

They shouldn't have stolen the money in the first place.

_But that's the only way to save us from the debt!_

We could run together from the debt, couldn't we?

_That wouldn't do any good!_

At least we would be together!

Hinagiku turned to look at her parents, who had become so weak and pale that they were almost like dying. "Dad? Mom?" she asked. She wasn't really sure what exactly she wanted to ask them, but she wanted them to make a response. If her parents really had stolen the money, at least she wanted them to admit it to her.

Mr. Kazami looked up at Hinagiku and, to her surprise, he smiled.

"Hina-chan," he began with a very weak voice, "your mother and I... are the worst parents in... the world. Our coffee shop... went out of business, but we... were so frightened... We left the debt... to you and we ran... away." He paused and took several deep breaths before he could continue. "We knew we had done very.. horrible things to you, so... we tried to think of... a way to help you. We... met the Fukadas, and we... worked for them. One day, we... broke into their... family safe and... took 79 million... yen from it."

Kyosuke snorted. Hinagiku ignored him.

"We found Yuki-chan... and we knew that she was... working in order to repay the... debt. She was still... angry at us, but we asked her... to take the money... for your sake... to repay most of... the debt." He took several deep breaths again. "You might not... believe it, Hina-chan, but we... love you. We made... a huge mistake... Very huge mistake. But we love you. We love you..." He began weeping by the end of his words. No matter what he had done, he could be seen deeply sorry about it.

Kyosuke showed no sympathy to him. "Have you finished?" he asked. "No matter how touching your story might be, the thing remains that you have stolen a lot of money from us." He turned to Hinagiku. "You see, Kazami. The fact is that your parents had put themselves in serious troubles. We haven't locked your parents here for no reason. Instead, it is very... justifiable."

Hinagiku said nothing and simply glared at him.

"Now, it is time for you to make some compensation, Kazami," Kyosuke continued. "What I am asking is simple: you give me the sword, and I give you your parents. You should be responsible for your parents, shouldn't you?"

Hinagiku still said nothing. She was still trying to accept the fact that her parents had not abandoned her. Instead, they had loved her so much that they could risk their own lives to repay the debt they once left her and Yukiji. They were locked here because they loved her. She wasn't unloved, after all...

Kyosuke still had no idea what she was thinking. He had been waiting for her to make a very simple and straightforward decision, but she had failed to do so. He did not have much patience - Mikado was watching him closely, so he did not have much time to waste. "Come on, Kazami! Make up your mind!"

Hinagiku looked up. She thought of her own parents, and her foster parents. Mrs. Katsura had told her a few days ago that she would always love her. Mr. Kazami had told her that he had always loved her. _"So I am loved," _she thought to herself. _"I have always been loved!"_

Hinagiku was always worried that she was not loved. Even though she had accepted the Katsuras as her foster parents, she wasn't entirely sure that the Katsuras really loved her like a daughter, since she was not their daughter anyway. As such, she fought very hard to earn the respect of others - if she was not loved, at least she wanted herself to be respected. As such, the competitive, tough and strive-for-excellence Student Council President was born.

The past few days had given Hinagiku an experience she had not have for a long time: she felt that she was loved. She realized that she was important to some people, that some people valued her. It would mean that no matter what, there was no way she could give away her life easily.

Hayate had asked her to think of the people around her when she told him that she would sacrifice herself. She had answered him that she did not want to leave them, but this night she finally understood what Hayate really had asked her to consider: they did not want her to leave.

Hinagiku smiled. Her mind had become very clear. Her decision of not surrendering Shirosakura remained unchanged, but now for a different reason; she had to live, not because she had to take up her responsibilities, but that she still had too much to live for.

She turned to Kyosuke. "I am sorry, Fukada-kun, but there is no deal. I am not giving you Shirosakura."

It was a huge surprise for Kyosuke, who had no idea of what she had been thinking. "Why?" he demanded. "What is the problem with you, Kazami?"

Hinagiku pointed at Mikado. "I know too much about the plans of this man," she said. "What he wants is for me to open the path to the Royal Garden, and by doing that I certainly would die." She paused and stared at Kyosuke. "You are hiding important information from me, and I have the feeling that I am deceived. As such, there would be no deal." Actually, she didn't really care about being deceived by Kyosuke or Mikado. What she was saying was more like an excuse than a reason.

Kyosuke turned to look at Mikado. It was clear that he knew nothing about the path or Royal Garden. "Sir," he began, "is this true?"

Mikado grinned. "It's none of your business, Fukada boy," he said. "Whether it is true or not, you are still doing this for me, or you will not be paid. Did I make myself clear?"

Kyosuke thought for a moment. "Yes, sir," he said finally, and then turned to Hinagiku again. "Kazami, things have now become a bit more complicated than I thought, but I still need your sword. Give it to me, and your parents will be safe."

Hinagiku looked straight into his eyes. "But I, your childhood acquaintance, will die."

"I don't care, Kazami! I will kill you to get the sword, if I have to."

Hinagiku shook her head. "So be it," she said, as she put Wooden Masamune away. "I have something you want, and vice versa. I found your deal unacceptable, and here is mine: Let's have a duel, Fukada-kun. The winner gets Shirosakura and my parents, while the loser gets nothing. What do you think?"

Kyosuke snorted. "Why do I have to fight you?"

"Because I would never give you the sword otherwise."

"You seem confident, don't you?"

"Who do you think I am?" said Hinagiku as she summoned Shirosakura. "I am the Student Council President of Hakuou Academy, and my name is Katsura Hinagiku!"

The sword came into her hands, shining with white light. It was ready for some action.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20: The third battle in 10 years**

Kyosuke stared at Shirosakura. The cunning grin on his face suddenly disappeared, and Hinagiku was sure that he looked worried.

"Are you serious, Kazami?" he asked. "Are you going to fight me with that sword?"

"Well, no," said Hinagiku. "Sorry if I misled you."

"So why do you…" began Kyosuke, but he stopped as Hinagiku did a surprising move by throwing Shirosakura at her parents. The sword landed right in front of Mr. Kazami, missing him by merely an inch.

"What are you doing, Kazami?" demanded Kyosuke. He couldn't believe that Hinagiku would attack her own parents.

"I am protecting my parents while we are dueling," said Hinagiku with a smile.

"What are you talking about?" asked Kyosuke, confused.

"You may try to reach Shirosakura or my parents, said Hinagiku. "But be warned: do it nice and easy."

Kyosuke walked slowly towards Shirosakura. He remembered that the last time he wanted to touch the sword, it repelled his hand sharply. This time, he reached his hand out very slowly, but as he came within an inch of Shirosakura, he felt his hand tingling, and he was unable to go any further. He then tried to touch Mr. Kazami, but the same thing happened.

"As you can see, Shirosakura would create an invisible barrier around it when it stands on the ground," said Hinagiku. "Athena told me that Shirosakura protected her while she was… hibernating, after she had left the Royal Garden."

"So?" asked Kyosuke, hardly noticing that it was Hinagiku who was leading the current negotiation. In fact, he had lost the high ground once Hinagiku successfully secured her parents with Shirosakura.

"If you can defeat me, you can have my parents again, and I will open the path to the Royal Garden for Director Sanzen'in." She paused. "I must say in advance, however, that I have no idea how to do it." She glared at Mikado, but he did not respond._ "Well, at least he heard me,"_ Hinagiku thought to herself.

"If I defeat you, however," she continued, turning back to Kyosuke, "I leave with my parents and Shirosakura, and you two must not come back to us for any more trouble." She paused. "I think it is a fair proposal, and I suggest you to accept it," she added.

"But…" began Kyosuke, but he did not know how to finish it. He wasn't sure if he should accept her challenge, as he wasn't sure if he could defeat her. He had wanted to make sure he could get Shirosakura, so he wasn't willing to accept an offer which he was not sure about. But then, he did not know how to turn Hinagiku down, as he simply could not say he refused to fight because he wasn't sure he could win.

He had no idea how to respond to Hinagiku at the moment, as everything seemed to have gone wrong for him. His original plan was to capture Hinagiku as soon as she went out of the elevator, but he failed to foresee Hinagiku coming from the balcony. He then tried to make an offer to Hinagiku which involved the hostages, but he failed to foresee Hinagiku securing the hostages with the power of Shirosakura. Before entering the Clock Tower, he was confident that he could force Hinagiku to accept his proposal, but at the moment he found himself being forced by Hinagiku to accept her proposal.

"But…" he repeated, looking desperately for a way out of this duel. "I don't even have a weapon, Kazami! How am I supposed to fight you when I have no weapon?" Just as his line was finished, a dark and long object flew towards him. He reacted in time to fetch it, and he could see that the object was actually a shinai.

"I am the Kendo Club captain, Fukada-kun," he heard Hinagiku speaking. "My office isn't short of shinai." As he looked up at her, he saw that she was also holding a shinai. He simply had no idea where these shinai came from. Kyosuke smiled weakly. He had lost another excuse to reject the duel. He would need to find another way to get rid of this fight he didn't want…

"You are afraid of me, aren't you?" asked Hinagiku suddenly.

"What?" asked Kyosuke, irritated.

"I see. You don't want to fight against strong people, Fukada-kun. You are a coward!" demanded Hinagiku.

"What?" repeated Kyosuke, this time stunned. Hinagiku was using the exact wordings he provoked her 10 years ago, this time to provoke him. "Is this your revenge on me, after 10 years? I thought you got over it already!"

"And I thought you grew out of your old self," said Hinagiku coldly. "I thought you have become a better boy!"

In fact, Hinagiku had got over her defeat against Kyosuke soon after she began learning Kendo herself. She held nothing against Kyosuke anymore after she defeated him at the age of 9. She picked up his old words only to irritate him, so that he would agree to the duel.

Kyosuke felt his inside burning with fury. He could control himself no more. "Very well," he said through gritting teeth. "Let's fight, Kazami. Let me show you that you are still the loser 10 years ago!" He had absolutely no idea that he had completely fallen into Hinagiku's trap.

"No, I am not," said Hinagiku with a smile, as she got into position. "I am still the one who defeated you in the Tournament 7 years ago."

Both of them went into stance for the third fight between them. Each of them had won a previous fight, and this time – the third and perhaps final time – they would find out who really was the better swordsman.

* * *

><p>"Damn!" Machina swore as his attempts to hack into the locking device kept failing.<p>

"Relax, Machina," said Athena simply, "and hurry."

"Yes, Athena," replied Machina. He was too loyal to Athena to retort to the apparent paradox between "relax" and "hurry". "This device is more complicated than anything I have seen before. I need more time."

Athena did not respond. In the past 15 minutes, she witnessed the guards in the building taking actions against them. The elevator was deactivated, and the stairs were concealed. The guards hoped to prevent Athena and Machina making an escape, so to buy time for their young master to return. They did not call the police, as there was a strict order from their master to never call the police.

Athena did not care about the guards. With the powers of herself and Machina, they could leave at any moment they wanted. However, she had promised Hinagiku to find the other prisoners, and any evidence against the Fukadas. She did not allow herself to fail her quest, so she kept staying here. As long as the locking device to the jail area was not deactivated, Athena was practically locked in the basement.

"_At this rate I am not getting out of here any time soon,"_ Athena thought to herself. _"I am sorry, Hinagiku, but I don't think I can come to help you save your parents. You have to do it yourself."_

* * *

><p>The birthday party at the Sanzen'in Mansion went on, but Miki, the birthday girl, was getting more and more upset. She had already stopped dancing, and was sitting very quietly at a corner. The others could see that something was wrong with her. They all stopped dancing and approached her.<p>

"Are you alright, Miki-chan?" asked Izumi, very worried. "Are you feeling unwell?"

Miki shook her head.

"Is there anything which upset you?" asked Risa. "Is it because Hayata-kun has not danced with you yet?

"Wait a second, why is it my – OUCH!" Hayate opened his mouth to protest, but he shut his mouth once Risa stepped on his foot.

"It is not Hayata-kun!" said Miki, shaking her head.

"Who is it, then?" asked Izumi.

Miki shook her head once again. "I am her best friend," she whispered. "I am her first ever friend, I would say, but she isn't spending time on my birthday party! My birthday party!" Even though she did not name the person, everybody knew that she was referring to Hinagiku.

"It's not like that, Hanabishi-san!" said Hayate. "Hinagiku-san really wants to celebrate your birthday with you! It is just that… she has something very important to do!"

"What is so important about anything?" demanded Miki. "She promised me to sing on my birthday party, and this is important to me! Where is she now, doing other 'important things', while abandoning me here?" She was so upset that by the end of her words, she actually started crying.

Hayate considered for a moment, and then he remembered. "Please come with me, Hanabishi-san!" he said, and took Miki by her hand.

"Where are we going?" asked Miki defensively. Unlike Hinagiku, she did not really enjoy being held by Hayate, and she wanted to get rid of his hand immediately. However, Hayate applied enough force so that she could not let go his hand.

"Please follow me, Hanabishi-san," said Hayate, ignoring her struggles, "to the TV Room!"

Miki had no way to get rid of him as he began dragging her towards the TV Room. Miki, Risa, Yukiji and Maria all followed them.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21: Tiny Star**

Nagi was still enjoying her complete victory at Mario Kart. If she won in the coming race, she would definitely be crowned champion of the tournament. In fact, she was leading the race so much that she had all the time bragging to the others.

"Weak! You are too weak, Kayura! Not even the Rocket Mode could help you!"

Kayura did not respond.

"Wataru! You never pay attention to the banana skins, do you? This is why you are trailing behind so much!"

"Oh, shit!" swore Wataru, as he slipped over another banana skin.

"Chiharu! You said you like Randoll, but you are losing to me, so I must be Kazami! Wahahaha!"

"Watch this! MESSER WING!" Chiharu cried as she used a mushroom.

"Oh, yeah? LIFTING TURN!" cried Nagi, as she drifted around a corner.

The battle was so heated that they barely noticed that Hayate and the others had arrived.

"Milady!" called Hayate. Nagi did not respond.

"Milady!" called Hayate again, this time a little louder.

"Oh, it's you, Hayate," said Nagi, not looking at him. "Watch me, Hayate. I am slaughtering them. I am the champion of the world!"

"I am sorry, milady. The game has to stop now."

"What?" asked Nagi, but she was already too late. Hayate had cut off the power of the Wii.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, HAYATE?" screamed Nagi, very furiously.

"I am very, very sorry, milady, but this is urgent."

"WHAT'S SO URGENT?"

"This," said Hayate as he showed the small package Hinagiku had given to him. "I have to show it right now, milady."

Nagi glared at Hayate. She could see much determination in Hayate's eyes, and she knew at once that he was being very serious about what he was asking. And in any case, her game was already cut off, so there was no use throwing tantrums at him.

"Fine," she finally said, folding her arms in her chest. "Do whatever you want. I don't bother!"

"Thank you, milady," Hayate said with a bow.

The package turned out to be a DVD. Hayate put the DVD into the player, and began playing it. The light was out, and everybody was under the impression that they were watching a movie on a 100-inch television.

Hinagiku appeared on the screen, in her school uniform, sitting in front of a piano. Apparently she had just been practicing, because she was still staring at the score. There was a small whisper of "Hina!", and Hinagiku looked up.

"What? We are on already? O – okay," she said, apparently nervous.

She took a breath, and began to speak. "Emm… Well, you probably have already seen me before watching this video, but I have to congratulate you again. Happy birthday, Miki!" she clapped her hands. Hayate, sitting in front of the screen, followed, and slowly everybody clapped their hands as well.

"I know I have promised you to sing in the party, but unfortunately there is another appointment which is too important for me to miss, so I cannot sing to you in person." She ran her fingers casually over the piano, playing a few notes. "I don't know if this video would be good enough as a substitute, but I guess this is the only way I could fulfill my promise to you. I asked Ruka – _the_ Suirenji Ruka ("Hina! Don't make fun of me!" called Ruka from the background.) – for help, and she very kindly offered me a new song. She will include this song in her next album, but for now – for this once – this is my song."

She took a deep breath. "Well, they say it is better for me to perform and sing this song all by myself. You know, it sounds stupid for me because I don't really play the piano." She laughed weakly. "However, this is a gift for you, Miki, so if they say it is better this way, then I will do it this way."

Ruka ran towards the piano, and nodded to Hinagiku. "I have the most delightful pleasure to have Ruka as the backing vocalist," said Hinagiku with a bright smile. "Well, it also means that I have to be the backing vocalist in her version. I am not really sure about it."

"Come on, Hina! You can do it!" said Ruka brightly.

"Fine, Ruka, fine," said Hinagiku, smiling. "So… shall we get started now?"

"Sure!"

"Okay. Well then, please enjoy this song, Miki. It is a very beautiful song titled Tiny Star."

Hinagiku took another deep breath, started striking the opening chords, and began to sing:

きらきらと揺れる星 見つめていた  
>I see the stars shining and swinging<p>

大好きなみんなの 笑顔みたい  
>They look like the smiling faces of all those I love<p>

Heart to Heart

この街の中で  
>Right in this street<p>

Smile to Smile

出逢うぬくもり  
>We meet each other warmly<p>

ひとつひとつ私を やさしい光りで包み込む  
>I am surrounded by the gentle light from you<p>

Thank you my friends

満天の夜空に心映す世界  
>Reflecting the world of our hearts all over the sky at night<p>

迷いそうな時には 道しるべになってくれる  
>Being our signposts to the way home whenever we are lost<p>

I wish for you

一番星よりもいつか まぶしくなれるよ  
>To become even brighter than the brightest star<p>

ささやかでも 明日(あす)を描くTiny Star…  
>A small but sketching the future Tiny Star<p>

校庭のすみにある 桜の木は  
>There is a cherry tree in the corner of the school campus<p>

たくさんの想い出 知っている  
>It keeps a lot of our memories<p>

Everyday

今日が過去になり  
>When today becomes yesterday<p>

Everytime

季節はめぐる  
>When season changes<p>

そして新しい日々が 違うきらめき連れてくる  
>And on a brand new day it brings to us new sparkles<p>

Just feel the joy

夜更かしをしながら 話し合った未来  
>Staying up late to talk about our future<p>

はげます役目なら いつも私だったけれど  
>I always take up the role to encourage you<p>

Believe in dream

たいせつな誰かを強く照らしてみせるよ  
>To become strong for someone important, and to let her see you shin<p>

ただ まっすぐ願い放つTiny Star…  
>Just shoot up straight with this wish, Tiny Star<p>

恋のときめきや 友情の涙が  
>The heartbeat of love, and the tears of friendship<p>

きっと本当の 輝きへと変わってゆく  
>Have always, really change the way it shines<p>

To be shining

果てしない銀河で そっと生まれた星(ゆめ)  
>Stars which were born in this endless universe<p>

それぞれに繋がる 目指した場所へ向かってく  
>Are linked together by the same goal they head to<p>

Thank you my friends

満天の夜空に心映す世界  
>Reflecting the world of our hearts all over the sky at night<p>

迷いそうな時には 道しるべになってくれる  
>Being our signposts to the way home whenever we are lost<p>

I wish for you

一番星よりもいつか まぶしくなれるよ  
>To become even brighter than the brightest star<p>

ささやかでも 明日(あす)を描くTiny Star…  
>A small but sketching the future Tiny Star<p>

La la la la…

La la la la…

ありがとう  
>Thank you<p>

"Thank you, my best friend," whispered Hinagiku as the song came to an end. "I will never forget that you are my first and most precious friend. Have a very happy birthday, Miki."

The video had ended. The lights were on again, but nobody said anything. They all had different feelings about the song: some were impressed by the performance of Hinagiku and Ruka, some were in awe of the beautiful song. They were all touched by the love Hinagiku had shown for Miki in this song, but they knew that their opinions didn't matter. After all, Miki was the one to receive this birthday present. They all turned to Miki and found that she was crying again.

"Hina, you idiot..." she whispered as she sobbed. "You... you don't have to give me such a big present, you idiot."

"Hanabishi-san..." said Hayate as he stood up. Nagi tugged his shirt and gave him a "silence" sign.

"I am sorry, Hina," continued Miki. "I never should have doubted you. I never knew that you value our friendship so much. I... I am... very happy."

Everyone smiled at Miki. They knew that she was so overjoyed that she lost control of her emotions and cried, but she would be fine in a moment. They decided to leave her alone for a moment, as there was nothing to worry about her.

Hayate looked up at the sky. "Well done, Hinagiku-san," he said in his mind. "Hanabishi-san likes your birthday present so much. The party is not over yet, so please come back quickly to celebrate with us. The party is not complete without you!"

* * *

><p>The duel between Hinagiku and Kyosuke had begun. Their two shinai clashed over and over again, while each of them had yet to land a blow on either body. Kyosuke, having just been provoked by Hinagiku, was the more aggressive one, while Hinagiku was watching his every move with patience.<p>

She soon realized that Kyosuke was really not as good as he could be. Admittedly, his skills and moves were better than they had been 7 years ago, but his progress was extremely slow. It seemed that he had not been practicing Kendo hard enough.

In merely a few minutes, Hinagiku had gained the upper-hand. Kyosuke found himself retreating to defense more and more often. He was panting and sweating, and his moves were in a complete mess. It looked like he could take a blow at any moment.

Hinagiku remained focused. She spotted weak spots in every move of Kyosuke, and she kept attacking them, so that as Kyosuke tried desperately to cover up his weak spots, he ended up exposing more and bigger once. Hinagiku knew that she was coasting to victory, but she remained cautious. This was a victory she would not allow herself to throw away with stupid mistakes.

Kyosuke had no answer to Hinagiku's attacks, and soon he found himself stepping backwards to dodge her strikes. He stepped back and back, and suddenly he tripped on his own feet. Kyosuke fell and lost his shinai.

Hinagiku pointed her shinai at Kyosuke. "This is over, Fukada-kun," she said coldly. "It is my victory. I am leaving with my parents and the sword."

Kyosuke tried to pull up a grin, but he found it very difficult. "You are good, Kazami," he said finally, very weakly. "I never knew you have become so good."

"Maybe you were not watching when I fought you men, one on four."

"So you know that I was behind the attack on you," said Kyosuke. "Mr. Sanzen'in had told me that it was a stupid plan, because you might not pull out the sword I want, and I might not be able to win it from you by force. He sent some of his men to attack Ayasaki, so to ensure that you would pull out Shirosakura, but I still failed to get it from you. Mr. Sanzen'in told us that he would give us another chance, but our reward would be cut by 50%."

Hinagiku snorted at his suggestion of "reward".

Kyosuke sighed. "I argued with him, and finally we agreed that, if I succeed this time, we would get 80% of the original deal. I was confident that I could get the sword from you, but looks like I have failed again." He laughed weakly. "I am getting nothing, I guess."

Hinagiku frowned. "Tell me, Fukada-kun, what do you want to get by doing all these?" she demanded. "You attacked us and hurt Hayate-kun. You use my parents as hostages to force me to give the sword to you. You want to get it from me even when you know I would die! Tell me, what for?" She was getting angrier by every word, and she ended up shouting her final question at Kyosuke.

Kyosuke smiled weakly again. "Money, of course," he said. "You have no idea how much I would earn by finishing this job. Even 80% - no, 50% - of the original deal would be enough for you to live 10 lives."

"W - what kind of nonsense is this?" demanded Hinagiku. "Money isn't - "

"Ah! Shut up!" demanded Kyosuke. "I don't want a sermon from you, Kazami. I have lost everything already, so leave me alone and go! It is all over!"

"Humph!"

Hinagiku suddenly heard a loud snort. She turned around and saw that Mikado had stood up. He walked towards Kyosuke and looked at him from above.

"Well, this is not over yet, Fukada boy," he said sweetly.

"Please don't make fun of me, Mr. Sanzen'in," said Kyosuke, who made no attempt to stand up even when he was talking to his employer. "I can't beat her, and she has already secured her parents. I can do nothing about it any more."

"Well, what if I give you the power to defeat this girl?"

"What?" asked Kyosuke, and he was so surprised that he sat up. "What do you mean?"

Mikado grinned. He held up his hand and summoned a sword. It looked very much alike Shirosakura, but it was black - thoroughly black. Black aura was coming out from the sword, and Hinagiku suddenly felt uncomfortable about the sword.

"I can lend you the Black Camellia, the sword of chaos," he whispered. "Of course, it comes at a price."

Hinagiku could almost have heard the Black Camellia roaring to engulf everything in sight.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22: Sky of Eternity**

"Price? What price?" asked Kyosuke as he stared at Black Camellia. He had seen so many weapons in his life, so he realized at once that it was a very powerful sword, which was Shirosakura's equal, or even superior. He was very excited at the prospect of using it, so even though he was asking about the "price", he didn't really care about it at all.

"The price would be your soul," said Mikado, in such a casual tone that it did not seem an issue at all giving away your soul. "In order to fully utilize the power of Black Camellia, you need to fuse your soul with the sword. Your soul will be completely engulfed by Black Camellia, and you will forever become a slave of it. Are you ready to pay such a price?"

Kyosuke opened his mouth to make a response, but it was Hinagiku who spoke first.

"No! Don't do it, Fukada-kun!" she said. "That's not worth it. You cannot give your soul to the devil simply because you want to beat me and get the money!"

"Shut up, Kazami!" said Kyosuke furiously. "You have no idea about how much this means for me. It is the biggest business I can ever imagine. It is the chance of my life! How could I let this chance go wasted?"

"But you are going to lose your soul for it!" cried Hinagiku. "What is the use of money if you have lost your soul?"

"As I said, don't lecture me, Kazami!" demanded Kyosuke, and he then turned to Mikado. "Mr. Sanzen'in, I am ready to pay the price," he said with a bow. Please give me the power to defeat the girl, and to get Shirosakura for you."

Mikado grinned very broadly. "As you wish," he said very softly as he handed Kyosuke the sword.

"No! Stop, Fukada-kun!" cried Hinagiku, but Kyosuke was not listening to her. He touched Black Camellia and yelled in pain. The black aura from the sword completely surrounded him. It looked as if Black Camellia was not only engulfing his soul, but his whole body as well.

Hinagiku watched in horror as she saw through the aura that Kyosuke's face had become more and more twisted by every second. After a few moments the aura had gone, and there stood a Fukada Kyosuke who looked quite different from before. It would be justifiable to say that he looked... evil.

"Fukada-kun..." whispered Hinagiku, and she had a sudden sense of imminent danger. Kyosuke had just turned to her and swung Black Camellia. A huge energy wave came out of the black sword, and Hinagiku dodged just in time to avoid the hit. She could feel that some of her hair had been cut by Kyosuke's strike. There was a small "crack" and Hinagiku saw her hairpin falling to the ground. It had been cut into halves, even when Black Camellia made no direct contact with it.

Hinagiku stood straight and held up her shinai to defend herself. Kyosuke dashed towards her to strike again, and he broke Hinagiku's shinai with his next strike. Hinagiku felt her hands shaking: the strike was so powerful that it paralyzed her arms for a moment. She threw herself to the ground and rolled over to avoid Kyosuke's further strikes. She could hear that one or two pieces of furniture were destroyed.

_"Only Shirosakura could survive these strikes!"_ Hinagiku thought to herself. _"But dad and mom would lose the protective barrier if I remove the sword from them. What do I do?"_ Suddenly, a very crazy idea came to her mind. She rushed towards Shirosakura, took it very quickly, and dashed towards Sanzen'in Mikado. She grabbed him by the neck, dragged him towards the balcony, and -

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

With a huge scream from Mikado, Hinagiku jumped off the balcony with him, and they began free falling. Hinagiku managed to point Shirosakura at the sky, and they began floating in the air.

"What are you doing, you little b – AHHHHHH!" He screamed again as Hinagiku let him go.

"Watch your mouth or I will let you go forever," said Hinagiku coldly as she grabbed Mikado again after he had fallen by 10 feet. _"This man deserves a small prank,"_ she thought to herself.

"Then why are you dragging me into this?"

"I can't leave you with my parents alone, can I?"

"You – "

"What?" Hinagiku asked with a deliberately threatening tone.

"No – nothing," said Mikado hurriedly. He did not want a third free-falling experience.

Hinagiku turned around and saw that Kyosuke had also jumped off the balcony and was flying towards them. Hinagiku smiled: she knew that she had taken a huge gamble by leaving her defenseless parents with Kyosuke. If Kyosuke turned to threaten her with her parents, then she would have no choice but to surrender. She bet on his obsession to defeat her and get Shirosakura, and fortunately it paid off.

"We are moving!" Hinagiku said to Mikado, and she began flying towards the ground. Kyosuke chased them from behind, and he was a bit faster. At a few metres above the ground, Kyouske finally caught up with them. He rushed towards Hinagiku and Mikado with the tip of his sword pointing at them. Hinagiku separated herself from Mikado, and they headed to the ground in opposite directions. Both of them hit the ground, but fortunately as it was grassland they did not hurt themselves much.

Hinagiku got up, but she barely had time to reorganize her stances. Kyosuke had also landed and was rushing towards her again. Hinagiku managed to raise her sword and block several incoming strikes. She could feel that Kyosuke had become much faster and stronger, and she needed to do her very best to match his abilities.

The swords clashed over and over again, and neither one had had the upper hand. Hinagiku had had superior combat skills, but Black Camellia was the more aggressive sword – in this regard it was more powerful than Shirosakura. The advantages of Hinagiku and Black Camellia cancelled each other out, and therefore Hinagiku and Kyosuke were very even-matched.

Mikado had retreated into the forest nearby, but he kept a close watch on the duel. He had no idea who would win this battle, but the results didn't matter for him. If Hinagiku lost, then of course he could order her to open the path to the Royal Garden. If Hinagiku won, then he had another plan for her.

Hinagiku could feel that Black Camellia had become more and more powerful by every second. As for Kyosuke, he had also become faster, stronger and more ruthless with every strike. Hinagiku had the impression that Black Camellia was an ever-hungry monster which kept feeding on everything around it, until there was nothing left. She also had the feeling that there was still some hidden power in Shirosakura, but for some reason she could not utilize it.

Fifteen minutes into the duel, Kyosuke began to take control. While Hinagiku started panting, and her moves began slowing down, Kyosuke showed no signs of fatigue. On the contrary, his powers kept increasing, so he was actually harder and harder to beat.

In another fifteen minutes, Hinagiku found that she could not attack Kyosuke anymore. The attacks of Kyosuke were too fast and too strong, that she had to use all her might to defend herself, and she had nothing left for a counter-attack. She had already received several small cuts on her face, arms and legs, and her grip on Shirosakura began to lose, but she could not give up. If she gave up, she would be killed.

Kyosuke kept on attacking, and suddenly he delivered a left-right-left combo at Hinagiku. Hinagiku barely blocked the first two strikes, but she lost her defense. The third strike came at the right side of her forehead. Hinagiku desperately jumped backward to dodge it, but she was a bit too late. Black Camellia cut across her forehead, and her face was covered in blood immediately. "ARGHHHH!" Hinagiku cried in pain as she fell to the ground.

Kyosuke pointed Black Camellia at Hinagiku. "You have lost, Kazami," he said with a hoarse voice. "Give me the sword, or I will kill you."

_"No, no! This is bad!"_ thought Hinagiku. She was scared – in her 16 years of life, it was only the second time she felt herself so close to death, the last time being almost turned into gold by King Midas. Last time, she had Isumi to save her, but this time she was all alone. To make things worse…

_"I – I can't see!"_ Hinagiku heard her inside screaming. She did not feel any pain in her eyes, so they were not injured, but she could not see a thing. _"Why? Why?" _She rubbed her eyes with her hand, but as she tried to open her eyes, she felt hot liquid filling them again in no time. _"It is my blood!"_ she thought. _"My blood is clogging my eyes!"_

She had lost her eyesight because her eyes were filled with blood. This problem could be solved very simply by stopping the bleeding, and washing her face properly. However, as Kyosuke was pointing his sword at him, there was no time for her to take care of her face and eyes.

Kyosuke, who appeared to have not lost all his mind yet, seemed to have noticed this. "You can't see," he said. "Give me Shirosakura now, or I will kill you even when you are defenseless!"

"Then you better kill me!" retorted Hinagiku. She had no intention to surrender the sword to him even in this situation.

"So be it," said Kyosuke coldly, as he walked towards Hinagiku.

Hinagiku had stopped crawling back. Upon knowing that she would die, the fear had suddenly gone from her. What was left for her was only a small guilt. "I am sorry," she whispered. "I am sorry, Hayate-kun. I promised that I would come back, but it seems that I cannot keep my promise. I have never imagined that I would die here, where we first ever met."

She smiled as she recalled the first time she met Hayate.

_"I'm Hayate."_

_"...eh?_

_"Ayasaki Hayate. You are?"_

_"I - I am... Katsura Hinagiku."_

_"Ehh~~ You're Katsura Hinagiku-san~~ That's a nice name~~"_

_"Aha, of course! Well as thanks, why don't I take you to the top of the Clock Tower?"_

_"But only members of the Student Council can enter the Clock Tower..."_

_"It's all right. The President of the Student Council... is me."_

_"UWAAAAAA! This scenery is amazing!"_

_"Huu... well? Isn't it magnificent? The view from this Clock Tower is superb. It's so beautiful that one could not forget it in the blink of an eye."_

_"You can't see it from that far inside."_

_"I'm fine. I'm seeing from the eyes of my heart."_

"The eyes... of my heart?"

An inspiration had just come to Hinagiku's mind. She tried to calm down and focus. She gave up trying to use her eyes to perceive things. Instead, she listened closely to what was happening around her, and felt carefully every movement of the ground beneath her.

Kyosuke had no idea what she was doing. He walked slowly towards her until he was right in front of her. He took a breath, held up Black Camellia, and delivered the final blow...

"Shirosakura!" cried Hinagiku, and the sword came into her hands in an instant. She placed the sword in front of her and – "CLASH" – she had blocked the killing blow. It was such a perfect block that it could only have come from someone who could see.

"So you can see," said Kyosuke, grinning. The influence of Black Camellia on him was such that he looked terrifying even when he was only stating the obvious.

"Yes, I can, Fukada-kun," said Hinagiku as she stood up. "As a Kendo practitioner, you should know that we all have inner-eyes."

"That's only a myth," snapped Kyosuke. "There is no such thing as an inner-eye!"

"Oh yes there is," said Hinagiku. "That is why I blocked your blow, Fukada-kun." She held Shirosakura with her right hand, and stretched out her left arm with an open palm. "And while I can't see you very clearly now, I can do it with this!"

A wooden sword materialized in her left hand in an instant. It was Wooden Masamune.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23: Break out!**

Everyone at the Sanzen'in Mansion was still enjoying the party. Mario Kart never resumed, but they were all having another ball. "Let's all dance together," suggested Maria, and almost everybody agreed instantly. Nagi was a bit reluctant, but Ayumu finally persuaded her to join. "I guess I have to show you how to dance properly, idiot Hamster," she said.

Hayate wasn't moving. He checked his watch: 21:39, so it was quite some time since Hinagiku had gone to save her parents. _"Is Hinagiku-san all right?"_ he thought to himself._"She said that Fukada-san wanted to meet her alone, but I guess I can sneak into the campus without getting caught. I probably should go and check out on her."_

He looked around and saw that he was the only one in the TV room. Nobody was there to see him leaving the Mansion.

Hayate headed towards the main gate at top speed. He looked around again and he saw that he was not followed. He began rushing out of the Mansion…

"Wait a minute, Ayasaki-kun," said a voice from behind.

_"What is it? I didn't see that I was followed!"_ The alarm bell inside Hayate's head was ringing. He knew that he was in a bad situation: either he was being totally negligent of there being a follower, or that he was followed by someone who couldn't be noticed.

He turned around to look at his followers, and his eyes widened. They were SP0004, SP0007, SP… whatsoever. In simpler terms, these were the four people who had attacked him in the school campus last week.

"What do you want?" he demanded, and moved into a fighting stance. The only thing he remembered about these people was that they meant trouble for him.

"We want you to return to milady, Ayasaki-kun," said one of the SPs – Hayate did not even know his number. "As the butler of milady, you shouldn't leave her alone in the Mansion."

"Milady is with Maria-san and her friends," said Hayate, angry at the SP's suggestion that he was being irresponsible. "She will be very safe. I have some personal business to attend, so please leave me alone!"

"Unfortunately, our assignment tonight is to stop you from attending any of your personal businesses," said another SP with a grin – could they have a name of their own? "Even if we have to do it by force."

"You – "

"It is unwise to fight us, Ayasaki-kun," said a third SP. "We don't want to make a mess of things in front of milady, do we?"

Hayate stared at them, his eyes burning with fury. He knew that he was no match against them without Wooden Masamune, and he could not summon it tonight – he knew that Hinagiku might have to use it.

"Fine," he said through gritting teeth. "I am going back."

And he returned to the Mansion in silence. _"I am sorry, Hinagiku-san,"_ he thought to himself._"It looks like I can't come and help you. I can only wish you good luck."_

* * *

><p>"I got it, I got it!" cheered Machina in joy as he successfully unlocked the tunnel.<p>

"Well done, Machina," said Athena. _"Although it took you over 30 minutes to do it,"_ she added in her own head.

They walked along the tunnel and found the cells. One of them had already gone empty, and Athena assumed that it was where the Kazamis were trapped. She could see three prisoners remained there, but they didn't even move upon seeing Athena. They looked like they were already… dead.

Athena frowned. "This is disgusting," she said. "The readers all say that I am the Queen of Evil, but even I couldn't think of such inhuman ways to treat a person. How evil could I be, in such a case?"

"Not all readers say you are evil, Athena," said Machina. "You have a lot of fans, especially in China. They actually worship you, Athena. They call you A-Goddess."

"Thank you, Machina. Let's stop breaking the fourth wall and get back to business."

"Yes, Athena."

Machina grabbed the bars, and started to pull them apart. The magnetic barriers were activated, but unlike the human Hinagiku, Machina was not afraid of them. He continued to force the bars apart, and finally he broke the bars and barriers altogether with a loud cry.

"Well done, Machina," said Athena again, this time with no additional phrases in her head. "You stay with them here, and I will get the police. There is more than enough evidence in this place to sue the Fukadas."

"Yes, Athena."

Athena was on her way back to the stairs when she suddenly stopped.  
>"What is it, Athena?" asked Machina.<p>

"Now I know why there are not enough guards here."

"Why?"

"It is Sanzen'in Mikado's plan to waste our time," said Athena coldly. "In order to keep us busy in this place for a long time, a lot of guards would be needed. However, if they were all here guarding the basement since the beginning, we might have decided that the rescue mission was too difficult so we aborted it. Now we have used much time to get to the prisoners, we have no choice but to waste more time getting rid of all the guards above us."

"What's the point of wasting our time?"

"This is to make sure that I cannot go and help Hinagiku quickly enough," snapped Athena.

"So – so, what do we do, Athena?"

"Pray for Hinagiku," replied Athena, "and get out of this place as soon as possible."

"How?"

Athena pulled out her own sword. "This," she said simply.

* * *

><p>"Shirosakura and Wooden Masamune…" hissed Kyosuke. "You are dual wielding, Kazami."<p>

"Yes, I am," replied Hinagiku. "And for your information, I am watching your every move with my inner-eye. Take me lightly and you will lose for certain."

She was saying these words, but Hinagiku was not entirely sure about herself. The combination of Shirosakura and Wooden Masamune could be very powerful in theory, but during her Kendo career, Hinagiku had never been a dual wielder. Her Master had told her that single-wielding and dual-wielding were two completely different styles of swordplay, which required different training and fighting methods. Switching from single-wielding to dual-wielding without any training at all was risky at the least.

It was also the first ever time Hinagiku had to rely solely on her inner-eye in a fight. The "myth" about inner-eye was true, and with the enhancements provided by Wooden Masamune, Hinagiku was able to "see" everything without using her eyes. But then, she was not entirely sure if her "sight" could remain as effective in the heat of battle. The loss of eyesight could not be easily made up, after all.

Yet, Hinagiku could feel that her body was strong and agile, despite the injuries she had received. Wooden Masamune had pushed her physical abilities over her own limits, and she was a swordsman at a completely different level. She grabbed Shirosakura a little tighter. The warmth delivered from the sword to her hand brought her comfort and strength, and Hinagiku almost felt like she was held by Hayate's hand. She could sense that light and power were emitting from Shirosakura. It was roaring to go.

"Let's go, my partners," she whispered. "Let us destroy that Sword of Chaos!"

She dashed towards Kyouske and swung Shirosakura at him. Just as Kyosuke blocked Shirosakura, Hinagiku swung Wooden Masamune. Kyosuke bowed down to dodge the strike, and he aimed his next strike at Masamune. Hinagiku blocked his blow with Shirosakura, and struck forward with Wooden Masamune. Kyosuke stepped aside to dodge it.

Hinagiku kept meeting Black Camellia with Shirosakura, while kept attacking Kyosuke with Wooden Masamune. She knew that Black Camellia was too powerful for Wooden Masamune, and she was not going to lose her sword through a reckless mismatch.

Kyosuke knew exactly what Hinagiku was doing, so he focused his attacks on destroying Wooden Masamune. Yet, he had to handle Shirosakura with Black Camellia, and he did not really have time to counter-attack, because once he blocked a Shirosakura strike, a Wooden Masamune strike would always follow, so he had to keep dodging.

It was clear that Hinagiku had gained the upper-hand. She was once again forcing Kyosuke to step back and back, but this time he was able to stay on his feet. It seemed that Black Camellia had given him the courage to face Hinagiku's onslaughts. Suddenly, something strange happened: Kyosuke did not dodge a Wooden Masamune attack, and took it very hard on his left shoulder.

"Fukada-kun, what are you – " began Hinagiku, but she had no time to finish her question, as she felt a huge energy wave rushing towards Wooden Masamune. Hinagiku retrieved her wooden sword very quickly, and struck back with Shirosakura. Kyosuke blocked it, and Hinagiku attacked again with Wooden Masamune. Kyosuke yet again did not dodge, and took the hit on his right shoulder.

"What is happening?" demanded Hinagiku. It was very unwise not to respond to an attack even if it was weak, let alone the powerful attacks from Hinagiku. Yet Kyosuke seemed not worried by Hinagiku's strikes, and he kept striking at Wooden Masamune after he was hit, which in turn forced Hinagiku to retreat.

After two more exchanges of strikes, Hinagiku finally understood what Kyosuke was doing._"He is taking Wooden Masamune on purpose, so that he does not have to waste time on dodging it, and instead could have a chance to strike at it! This is crazy!"_ She had no idea just how determined Kyosuke was to destroy Wooden Masamune.

Hinagiku slowed down her attacks on Kyosuke as he fought less and less like a swordsman, while more and more like a barbarian. _"He has gone mad!"_ she thought to herself. _"It is useless to reason with him anymore. I must stop him from this madness!"_

Kyosuke, upon realizing that Hinagiku had gone easy on him, let out a war cry and advanced again. Black Camellia emitted even more dark aura then before, and it was clear to Hinagiku that the Sword of Chaos wanted to take this chance to destroy her and her swords.

Hinagiku dodged two of the oncoming strikes, and threw herself to the ground to buy herself some space and time to think. _"That sword is at fault,"_ she thought to herself. _"I have to destroy that sword, but…"_

She remembered that Mikado had said that Kyosuke's soul had been "completely engulfed" by Black Camellia, so what if the sword was destroyed…? With that in mind, Hinagiku hesitated. She was not ready to do permanent harm to Kyosuke, no matter how twisted his mind might be.

Suddenly, Hinagiku felt a warm pulse from Shirosakura. "Shirosakura?" she asked, as if talking to a human friend. Shirosakura sent her another warm pulse, and this time Hinagiku could hear the sword: _"Do it. Trust me."_

"Okay, I am leaving it to you, partner!" she cried as she raised Shirosakura to her chest level, and the sword began to glow. She focused her mind on the black aura from Black Camellia, trying to figure out where she should aim her attacks at. "There!" she cried as she sent four strikes – up, down, right, left – almost simultaneously. Kyosuke was overpowered by these four strikes, and Black Camellia was sent into the air. Hinagiku threw Wooden Masamune at Kyosuke, pinning him onto a tree by his sleeves. She then jumped upwards into the air.

"ULTIMATE: SHIROSAKURA…" Hinagiku cried as she delivered an almighty strike at Black Camellia, slicing a huge curve with Shirosakura across the sky.

"CRESCENT!" She finished as Black Camellia exploded into tiny pieces and were blown everywhere by the night wind like falling sakura.

Hinagiku landed onto the ground. "My Shirosakura blooms everywhere," she said as she stood up and swung the sword around.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24: We are back**

Hinagiku sensed no movement from Mikado, so she thought that it was safe for her to treat her wound. She tore a small part of her skirt out, wrapped the wound on her forehead, and tied the cloth at the back of her head. She had almost completely stopped bleeding, as Wooden Masamune had also amplified the ability of her body to heal. She rubbed her eyes again with her sleeves, and as some of the clogged blood was brushed off, she was able to open her eyes again. The first ray of moonlight hurt her eyes a bit, though.

She went to check on Kyosuke, who was still pinned on the tree and without conscious. Hinagiku moved closer and heard him breathing, and she was relieved – he was alive, at least._ "I'd better let him lie down," _she thought. She took Wooden Masamune off him, and gently helped him to lie on the ground. Then, she heard someone clapping hands, and she turned around to see it was Mikado.

"Good," said the old man. "Well done, Student Council President. Now, let us finish this job."

Hinagiku stared at him. "What do you mean?" she asked, although she knew exactly what he had meant.

"Oh, of course you know what I mean," said Mikado sweetly. "I want you to open the path to the Royal Garden for me."

Hinagiku looked up at the sky and let out a small laugh. "What makes you think I will listen to you?" she asked as she stared at him again. "My parents are safe, Fukada-kun is defeated, I have Shirosakura with me and you are not armed. There is nothing left for you to threaten me."

"I am not threatening you, Hinagiku," said Mikado, grinning. "I am inducing you."

"What do you mean?" asked Hinagiku for the second time, but this time she did not know what he had meant. "What's the point of inducing me, if I am going to die after opening the path?"

"You don't have to be the one who dies, Hinagiku," said Mikado, grinning even more broadly. "It is true that in order to open the path, one human life has to be sacrificed, but it doesn't have to be the wielder of the sword."

"What – "

"In the past," said Mikado, interrupting Hinagiku, "the people who opened the path to the Royal Garden sacrificed the lives of criminals. It was seen as the most honourable execution for these criminals, and the most sacred ritual for the Royal family members. Shirosakura has been called the Sword of Justice, because it did justice by executing criminals."

Hinagiku felt her whole body was shaking. She suddenly had the urge to throw Shirosakura away, but she forced herself to stop after the sword sent her another warm pulse. It seemed like the sword was pleading to her not to throw it away – for the moment, at least.

Mikado had no idea what Hinagiku was thinking about. "You can, therefore, imitate those Royal family members, and execute the 'criminal' before you," he said, and he pointed a finger at Kyosuke. "I think this boy certainly qualifies as a criminal for you, Hinagiku."

"No, that would be…"

"Why not?" demanded Mikado, who interrupted Hinagiku again. "Think about what he has done to you and to your parents. Are you going to forgive him so easily?"

"No, but I - "

"Do you not think that he deserves punishment?"

"Well, that - "

"THEN DO IT!" shouted Mikado. "Kill him as he has been doing bad things to your family. Kill him to do justice with the sword you are holding. Kill him to make you equals with the Royalties in the past! Kill him because he is not that far from death, actually!"

"W – what do you mean?" asked Hinagiku, who paid no attention to anything but the last sentence.

"I have already told you that Black Camellia would completely engulf the soul of this boy," said Mikado. "By destroying Black Camellia, you have also destroyed his soul. He is now a soulless body, and it is you who turned him into this!"

"W – what are you talking about?" asked Hinagiku, horrified. "I didn't… I didn't…"

"Yes, you have," said Mikado, raising his voice again. "You have basically killed him already, so why don't you end his life and give him a more comfortable death?"

Hinagiku shook her head fiercely. "No, no! I didn't… I didn't kill him! Shirosakura told me…"

"Whatever Shirosakura has said, it must have been lying to you!" demanded Mikado. "Do you think that this sword, which has been executing criminals for ages and ages, would show any mercy to a boy like Fukada? It wanted you to help it kill him, so it fooled you!"

"I didn't kill Fukada-kun!" shouted Hinagiku very fiercely. "He is alive and he will wake up! He will wake up for sure!" She dropped Shirosakura, sat before Kyosuke, grabbed him by his arm and began shaking him. "Wake up, Fukada-kun! Wake up!" she said, and as he remained motionless, Hinagiku become more and more desperate. "Wake up… Wake up…" Tears dropped from her eyes as she began crying again.

Suddenly, Shirosakura began to glow again, and it floated slowly towards Hinagiku. _"Hold me,"_ Hinagiku could hear the sword speaking to her. _"I can save this boy."_

Hinagiku hesitated. She was facing a sword which was full of criminals' blood. It was on the sword's suggestion that she decided to destroy Black Camellia, turning Kyosuke into a body without consciousness. She was not sure if she should believe in the sword again, after she had heard Mikado talking about the "sacrifices" it had made in the past.

"_Trust me, Hina," _said the sword gently. _"I know what I have done, and I know what I am doing. I will not make you guilty of harming this boy."_

Hinagiku recalled all the times she and Shirosakura fought together as partners. It had always been loyal to her, obeying her every order, and it actually aided her in punishing Hayate for his stupidity. It had always been her good friend, and in her hands the sword had never shown a hint of cruelty. Maybe she had to believe in the sword one more time. Maybe it was Mikado who was lying…

Slowly, very slowly, Hinagiku reached out and grabbed Shirosakura. _"Thank you, Hina,"_ whispered Shirosakura, and it glowed most brightly – much brighter than it ever had been. _"Thank you for trusting me, even after hearing what that old man has told you. I have been sacrificing people's lives for other people, now is the time for me to make my own sacrifice for this boy, and also for you, Hina!"_

And it exploded. Shirosakura reduced itself to tiny pieces, and fell down like falling snow. Some of the pieces landed on Hinagiku, and some landed on Kyosuke. Hinagiku watched with her eyes wide open. She could not believe what she was seeing: Kyosuke was shaking fiercely, as if he was struggling to regain consciousness. He finally opened his eyes, looked at Hinagiku, and whispered "Kazami…"

"Fukada-kun!" cried Hinagiku. She could not control herself. She had no idea why she did it, but she grabbed his right hand with both her hands and placed her forehead on it. "You are alive! You are alive! Thank God, you are alive!"

Kyosuke blushed slightly as he felt the warmth from Hinagiku. "I am sorry, Kazami, for what I have done to you." He sighed as he reflected on what he had done so far. "I am a fool," he added.

Hinagiku made no comments. It was not time for judging Kyosuke.

"_Goodbye, Hina,"_ there came the voice of Shirosakura through the air. _"It has been my honour to serve you, a girl who shows her love to the ones who love her, to the ones who abandon her, to the ones who hurt her, and to a sword which is accused of deceiving her. I have never seen a girl with so much power of love, and you should never lose such power, Hina…"_

The voice went dead as all the pieces of Shirosakura had fallen down. It had truly gone.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?" cried Mikado. Hinagiku let Kyosuke go, and turned to see that Mikado was shaking with fury. "Where is it? Where is Shirosakura? Where is my sacrifice?" he demanded.

"Shirosakura sacrificed itself to save Fukada-kun," said Hinagiku calmly. "And it saved me. Thanks to it, I don't have to take up the guilt as a murderer."

"But what about me?" demanded Mikado. He had become so angry that he was no longer able to control himself. "I have to go to the Royal Garden, but you have destroyed the key! Nobody is giving me a chance! Why? WHY?" He actually began to sound like a cry-baby.

"May I ask why you are so obsessed with going to the Royal Garden?" asked Hinagiku. "What makes you think that it is worth a human's life, and the happiness of a family, for you to go to the Royal Garden?"

"It is the happiness of my family!" shouted Mikado. "I want to find clues to get my daughter back in the Garden!"

"Your daughter… you mean Nagi's mother? What happened to her?"

"She…" began Mikado, but as he began to regain control of his emotions, he realized that there was no point talking about it to Hinagiku. Not when she had lost the key to the Royal Garden, anyway. "There is nothing I can tell you," he snapped and turned away. "Now go! Get out of my sight! I don't want to see you anymore!"

Hinagiku didn't move as she considered Mikado for a moment. She did not know why, but somehow she pitied the old man. "I don't know what happened to your daughter, but speaking of family happiness, your family is awaiting your return, Director Sanzen'in," she said, although she was not sure if Mikado was listening at all. "Hayate-kun, Maria-san and Nagi… you still have a family! Go back to them, couldn't you?"

Mikado did not respond. It didn't seem like he had heard Hinagiku at all.

Hinagiku shook her head. She did not have time for this old man, as there was something more important for her to do. "Fukada-kun, I need your hand," she turned to Kyosuke and said. "Can you help me?"

Kyosuke smiled weakly as he slowly rose to his feet. "Whatever you ask, Kazami," he said.

* * *

><p>Hayate was in the ball room, watching the girls dancing in pairs. It should have been an enjoyable experience, Hayate was not happy at all. He was angry that he was not able to fight the four SPs, and that he was not able to go and help Hinagiku. He felt a rock was sitting on his heart, and it was getting larger and larger, suffocating him.<p>

He became so frustrated that he began pacing around the room. He suddenly felt his cellphone vibrating, and he quickly picked up the phone.

"Hello? I am Hayate."

"Hayate-kun, it's me."

"Hinagiku-san?" said Hayate, and he was so relieved to hear her voice that he felt the rock on his heart had almost completely vanished. Almost. "How is everything going on?"

"It's fine on the whole, but I guess I need some help here. Could you please come to the main gate?"

"O – okay."

Hayate arrived at the main gate. To his surprise, there was no SP stopping him anymore. He saw a taxicab stopping at the gate. The door swung open, and four people emerged very slowly. Hayate blinked as he saw Hinagiku and Kyosuke were both carrying a very skinny person: Kyosuke carried a man, and Hinagiku a woman.

Hayate moved forward to meet Hinagiku, quite unable to hide his delight of seeing her come back. He could almost say that he missed her dearly.

"Welcome back, Hinagiku-san!" he said, smiling brightly. He had a lot of things he wanted to talk about, but the first thing which came up to his mind was a greeting. He could not think of anything better to express how happy he was for her return.

Hinagiku let in the warmth, the joy, and the peace of the greeting. After the ordeal she had tonight, she was very grateful to receiving this greeting. It made her feel so good to be back - to her friends, to her sister, and to Hayate.

"Thank you, Hayate-kun," she replied, beaming equally brightly. "I am back."


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25: Every meaningful story has a simple ending**

Hayate took over Mr. Kazami from Kyosuke, and sent Kyosuke to the ball room, where Maria could watch over him ("No problem. I will watch him very closely!" said Maria sweetly). Hayate helped Hinagiku to lead the Kazamis to a comfortable guest room, and served them with nutritious soup. The Kazamis ate like they did not care about the temperature of the hot soup. It seemed that they had not had a proper meal for so long.

They fell asleep very soon after the meal. Hayate and Hinagiku left the room and closed the door behind them very quietly.

"I'll ask for the family doctor to give them a body check, Hinagiku-san," said Hayate. "Not to worry, our family doctor is…"

"The best in the world," Hinagiku finished the sentence for him with a smile. "No doubt about it."

"Yes, so… your parents are going to be fine."

Hinagiku did not respond, and kept looking at the floor. No matter how much reassurance she had received, she couldn't really stop worrying about her parents, until she was absolutely sure that they were fine.

Hayate did not know what else to say either. He tried very hard to think of what to say and do, but nothing came to his mind. Suddenly, Hinagiku's cellphone sent out an alert. She checked her cellphone and saw that it was a message from Athena: _"Job done. Enough evidence. At police station."_

"What is it, Hinagiku-san?" asked Hayate, somewhat relieved that he could find something to say.

"It's Athena. She had found enough evidence at Deep Field Weaponry to turn the Fukadas to the police," said Hinagiku as she showed him the message. "I guess we have to take Fukada-kun to the police station as well."

"Not tonight, Hinagiku-san," said Hayate firmly. "We can do that tomorrow. For now, you need to eat and sleep." He paused and thought for a while. "Not to worry, we can leave everything to A-tan. Trust her," he added.

Hinagiku raised an eyebrow. "I am sure she would not be very happy with you, Hayate-kun."

"Why?" asked Hayate, who had got no clue at all.

Hinagiku rolled her eyes. "Well…" she began, not entirely sure if she should point it out to him without Athena's permission. "Let's just say that you shouldn't leave a girl to do these things on her own, because no matter how capable she is, she would still get upset."

"Why would she get upset if she is capable?"

"Well, that is…" Hinagiku sighed and shook her head. This guy really was unbelievably dense. "I am not answering this question for her. You better ask her in person."

"Hey! Please tell me, Hinagiku-san!"

"N. O. No!" Hinagiku said and stuck out her tongue at him. Hayate felt his heart skipped a beat.

"Well, Hayate-kun. Is Miki's birthday party over?"

"No, not yet," said Hayate. "Do you want to come to the party – again?"

"Yes, sure, but first I would want to wash my face properly," said Hinagiku. "By the way, may I borrow a skirt? You see, mine is torn already…"

* * *

><p>Hinagiku entered the ball room to meet up with everyone, but she did not tell them where she had been. She went straight to Miki, who began blushing upon seeing her.<p>

"Hey, Miki," said Hinagiku. "Did you have fun?"

Miki did not answer her question. "You are late, Hina," she said instead.

"Well… yes, I am sorry," said Hinagiku, and she meant it.

Miki turned her head away. "It's fine. You have already given me a very nice birthday present, so I'll forgive you this time."

"Thanks, Miki," said Hinagiku brightly.

"Speaking of the birthday present…" said Miki as she rolled her eyes. "You sang very well, Hina. I guess I have to share this video to the others."

The smile on Hinagiku's face disappeared. "S – share, you said? What do you mean, share?"

"I mean, I will upload this video to YouTube," said Miki simply. "Imagine how many hits you would receive, Hina. You are going to be popular."

"N – no! You can't do that, Miki!" said Hinagiku, who was horrified but yet blushing. "I am begging you, Miki! Don't do it!"

"Why not, Hina?" asked Miki. She certainly enjoyed toying Hinagiku. "Don't worry. Justin Bieber became well-known because of YouTube. I am going to make you a Hina Bieber – or Justin Hina, if you prefer that. Anyway, you are going to be a superstar."

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" yelled Hinagiku. She felt miserable, but everybody was laughing.

* * *

><p>Athena summoned Hayate and Hinagiku to her office on the following day. It was a Saturday, so only a few students went to school for club activities. Hayate could see that Athena did not look happy at all – Well, she did smile to Hinagiku, but her eyes became icy cold and her face stony whenever she looked at him. "A – A-tan?" Hayate began, very uncertainly. "Are you mad at me?"<p>

"Give me a reason why not," said Athena with a deliberately cold voice, "after you have left me to report everything to the police on my own."

Hinagiku gave Hayate a what-have-I-told-you look.

"I am sorry! I am sorry! I am very sorry, A-tan!" Hayate kept apologizing and bowing to Athena. It was a scenario which was so familiar to Hinagiku, but only this time she wasn't on the receiving end of the apology. Hinagiku forced herself not to laugh at Hayate.

"That is enough, Hayate," said Athena as she gave a final glare at Hayate. "Anyway, the police have already opened a file for this case. They will investigate into the matter, and if I am right, they definitely would be guilty for illegal entrapment."

"Good," said Hinagiku with a nod. "Tell me more about your adventure, Athena."

"Well, the infiltration was easy, because it was actually a trap set up by Sanzen'in Mikado to hold me back from helping you, Hinagiku. The guards all gathered above us while we were saving the prisoners, and it really was not easy to get out of that building."

"So how did you do it, Athena?" asked Hinagiku, worried if Athena had hurt or even killed the guards.

"Well, I planned to fight our way out of that place at first," said Athena. "But then I came up with a much simpler idea: I asked Machina to transform into his snake form, and he scared all the guards away."

Both Hayate and Hinagiku laughed. "That was brilliant, Athena!" said Hinagiku.

"Surprisingly it also helped me to get away with a charge of trespassing," said Athena. "We have destroyed all the CCTV cameras and tapes, and the police simply could not believe in witness statements which say that I entered the building and transformed into a snake. They are more ready to accept my story that I was invited into the building, and was later trapped."

"Oh I see…" Hinagiku responded. She actually thought that there was a major miscarriage of justice in this case, but she could not say it out to Athena. After all, why would she want her friend be prosecuted?

* * *

><p>The Kazamis looked a lot better than before, although they still found it difficult to walk on their own. The doctor reported that they were suffering from severe malnutrition, which greatly ruined their health, but fortunately that was all. The road to recovery would be hard and long, but if they were properly nurtured, hopefully there would be no permanent damage.<p>

Hinagiku and Yukiji visited their parents in the afternoon. It was their first ever family gathering after 10 years, but Mr. and Mrs. Kazami announced their decision which could suggest that the family would remain separated for another long period.

"What did you say?" asked Yukiji. "Did you just say that you are turning yourselves to the police?"

"Yes, I did," said Mr. Kazami with a weak smile. "The Fukadas might have entrapped us for so long, but the fact is that we have stolen money from them. There is no way we can run away from this. We have to turn ourselves in, or we will forever be living in shame."

"But…" began Yukiji, "but what about Hina? She had risked her life to rescue you, so that we can be together! Why are leaving us again?" She paused and took a deep breath, as she found it hard to keep her emotions under control. "I could be fine, but you have to consider how Hina feels!" she continued.

Hinagiku sat quietly without making comment. Her eyes were red and watery, though.

"Come to think of it, the Fukadas are going to be arrested! There is no evidence to suggest that you have stolen money from them! If none of us mention it, nobody would ever know that you have – "

"Onee-chan, please stop," said Hinagiku finally, interrupting her sister.

Yukiji was shocked that Hinagiku had just told her to stop persuading their parents to stay. "Hina?" she asked.

Hinagiku looked up at her parents. "Dad, mom, I know you are making the right choice. I support you, I really do," she paused as she fought back the tears in her eyes. "But as Onee-chan has just said, it means you are leaving us again. I – I don't want that." She had finally lost control of her tears. "I don't want it, but I understand. I understand…"

Mrs. Kazami took Hinagiku's hand. She could feel her daughter trembling. "Don't cry, Hina-chan," she said, but she was also close to tears. "It could be a bit of a long wait, but there would be one day we finally come together as family. As long as we love each other, we are family no matter where we are!"

Hinagiku held her mother's hand a bit tighter. "We will wait for you, dad and mom," whispered Hinagiku. "We will visit you whenever possible. We will introduce dad and mom – Mr. and Mrs. Katsura, I mean – to you."

Mrs. Kazami smiled. "And after we have served our sentence, the first thing I would do is to buy you a new hairpin, Hina-chan."

Hinagiku touched where her hairpin used to be. "As my birthday present," she said with a warm smile.

* * *

><p>The police arrived in the evening to take Fukada Kyosuke away, as he was accused of kidnapping and illegal entrapment. Kyosuke did not resist. He went with the police with his head down, not talking to anyone at all.<p>

"Unfortunately there is not enough evidence suggesting that Mikado was behind all this," said Athena, who had also arrived at the Sanzen'in Mansion. "Maybe that's why he hired the Fukadas in the first place: to make sure that he has a way out even if he fails."

"Well, it's not really a matter for me, I guess," said Hinagiku as she shrugged. "Now that Shirosakura is gone, he should have nothing more to do with me."

"You are wrong, Student Council President," said a voice from behind. Everybody turned to see Isumi. "For your information, I come because Nagi invited me to read her new manga today," said Isumi before anyone could ask her the very obvious question. "I am not lost today." She looked very proud of herself.

"Isumi-san…" began Hayate, sympathetically. "Milady invited you to come yesterday."

"Saginomiya-san," said Hinagiku, before Isumi started to struggle to understand she had wasted 24 hours to find her way here. "What do you mean, I am wrong?"

"Shirosakura is not gone, Student Council President," said Isumi, changing to the new subject without difficulty. "It is living inside you, feeding on your sense of justice to return to full form and power. When you face another situation which requires you to do justice with it, it will come back to life again."

Hinagiku found it very difficult to let this piece of news to sink in. "Wonderful," she said simply.

They saw it as the police car took Kyosuke away. Hinagiku suddenly felt her heart ached as she realized that there was yet another person she would not be seeing again for a long time. "I still find it hard to believe that it was him," she said. "I mean, he was not exactly a nice person, but I never thought that he could be so twisted."

Athena held up her hand. "Whatever I said to you about giving him a chance, I take it back."

"You like him," said Hayate suddenly. He had no idea why he had decided to say it. "Don't you, Hinagiku-san?" he further asked, as if he wanted to make it sound like he was sure about it.

"Well, he was a friend," said Hinagiku, and everyone was sure that she did not know what Hayate was talking about. "I was quite scared when I thought that he might have been dead, so I think I like him."

"No, I didn't mean that, Hinagiku-san," said Hayate, who was a bit impatient with her dumbness. "I mean… do you want him to be your boyfriend?"

Hinagiku turned to look at him. "No," she said simply. "I never liked him that way." Hayate kept staring at her, suggesting that he did not believe in her. Hinagiku had no choice but took a moment to reconsider her statement, as "Oh, all right, I could have wanted to really give him a chance, but he blew it for himself, didn't he?"

"Really?" asked Hayate suspiciously.

"Well, let me tell you something very obvious to see, Hayate-kun," Hinagiku said as she leaned towards him. "I never ever thought of calling him 'Kyosuke'." She didn't know if Hayate realized the importance behind her words: Hayate remained the only boy she had called by his first name.

"And what do you think he should call you, Hinagiku-san?" asked Hayate.

Hinagiku smiled and made her reply: "Katsura."


End file.
